


Outbreak

by FooAndLu



Category: One Piece
Genre: Alternate Universe - Modern Setting, Angst and Hurt/Comfort, Animal Abuse, Animal Traits, Animal Transformation, Cat/Human Hybrids, F/M, Fluff, Friendship, Gangs, Human Experimentation, Implied Relationships, Implied/Referenced Drug Use, Kidnapping, M/M, Psychological Trauma, Torture
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2018-07-05
Updated: 2018-09-12
Packaged: 2019-06-05 12:43:32
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: Graphic Depictions Of Violence
Chapters: 9
Words: 22,784
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/15171017
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/FooAndLu/pseuds/FooAndLu
Summary: All it takes is a single day to bring Water Seven to its knees. Death in the streets, hundreds missing, and an influx of...animals on the loose? When Charlotte Katakuri adopts an injured kitten, little does he know that he's taken in one of the main targets of the chaos and must protect him from the schemes of evil mob bosses and fight to keep him in his care.(Cross-posted on FF.net)





	1. Chapter 1

**Author's Note:**

> Greetings readers! Thanks for checking out this story! We're Foo and Lu and this is our first story on this website. We both really love One Piece and decided to create this after an...interesting night of Forensic Files and Lone Star Law, this is going to be a rollercoaster of a story so buckle up and get ready for a ride!  
> Comments, Kudos, and constructive criticism are welcome, we do not own One Piece.

"Zehahahaha, everything is going perfectly!" Teach exclaimed, watching as the hired hands prepared for their mission, the next step in his plan.

"By this time tomorrow, the entire city will be in chaos," Burgess laughed, "that drug your pet scientist created is all it will take."

"I AM NO PET!" the man in question yelled, "I AM CAESAR CLOWN THE GREATEST SCIENTIST IN THE WORLD! WHEN JOKER FINDS OUT WHAT YOU'VE DONE HE'LL-"

"He'll what? I'm not afraid of the old bird!" Teach cackled, "Still, I'm impressed with this concoction of yours! It's just what I needed for my plans to work...though I wish it was a bit more...predictable…" The scientist scoffed,

"YOU DARE! You asked, NO, DEMANDED a drug that is unlike anything this world has ever seen! Do you realize how difficult it is to turn humans into animals? YET I HAVE DONE IT! AND YOU COMPLAIN THAT YOU CAN'T CONTROL IT?" Caesar shouted, "DO NOT MOCK MY MASTERPIECE!"

"Zehahahaha, as long as it works!" he turned to Burgess, the scientist no longer holding his interest, "Are the main extraction teams ready?"

"Yes, Sir. All are prepped and ready to go." Teach turned and surveyed his chosen teams, ranging from two to fifteen people for each intended target.

"Zehahaha, Team Alpha assigned to get old Don Quixote himself, his capture is the most important. Be careful, he's past his prime but dangerous. Team Beta, you'll be facing Dogtooth...good luck...you're the largest group but you'll be in the most danger. Team Charlie, you're headed for the police headquarters to take out that troublesome pair of detectives that take out any gang they get their teeth into. Team Delta, you're after Portgas' kid brother, he's not going to be killed by the drug, not with the blood that's in him, so make sure you catch him. All teams, if the target dies, leave the body and get out of there. If they aren't affected at all, leave them be. Deal with any conflicts that may arise as quickly and quietly as possible."

"You heard the man! Move out!" Burgess ordered, then watched alongside his boss as the teams flew into action.

"Soon, this city will be mine." Teach muttered, "All the money...power...protection from that old man...Newgate won't be able to touch me! After this, it won't matter how much hatred he holds for me, I'll be invincible!"


	2. Chapter 2

 

* * *

**HINA'S POV**

"Hina is tired." the pink haired detective thought grumpily, "this day has been far too long."

"Detective Hina, here's the file for the Condoriano case." an intern said, plopping the large folder on her desk,

"Are you ever going home? You do realize that it's almost midnight?" Smoker asked, walking past on his way to his own desk.

"You're one to talk, Chase." Hina replied. The man groaned, "Don't call me that." "Your name? Hina will call you whatever she wants." she replied smugly, knowing he couldn't retaliate.

"...I've got your mail, Ma'm." the intern said, holding out the letter. Smoker frowned,

"It's midnight," he pointed out,

"Maybe I didn't see it earlier when I got your mail for the first time?" the intern replied sheepishly, "I can't think of any other reason for it to be there…" Hina took the plain white envelope and studied it for a moment,

"Seems normal enough. Don't be so careless, Intern." she opened it quickly and was instantly coughing as white powder flew up into her face.

"Prank mail?" Smoker asked, "It's been awhile since we've had an- Oi, Hina!" the man stared in shock as his partner collapsed and lay, motionless, on the floor. "You, call for an ambulance!" he ordered, rushing to check Hina's vitals.

"Yes, Sir!"

"She still has a pulse…" the man muttered, "but it's faint. Stay with me, Partner."

* * *

**UNKNOWN POV**

"Team Charlie reporting. Target one down and unresponsive. Target two out of range and on high alert." The intern put away his radio and turned, heading back inside to help his superiors, trying his best to keep the smug smirk off his face.

 

* * *

**KATAKURI POV**

Katakuri glared at his hostage, not that the younger man could see him as he hung by his arms, the tips of his toes barely able to touch the ground, blood dripping into his eyes. "You honestly thought you could get away with this, huh?" he growled, "Snooping around in my territory? Perhaps your boss has gotten a bit too cocky." he lashed out again, the spikes on his gloves digging deep into the flesh of his recently acquired punching bag.

"Th' Young Maste-"

"Can't reach you here." Katakuri finished for the young man, "Honestly, I had heard you were fast, Dellinger, but you're much too obvious to be sneaking around."

"I won't tell you anything!" Dellinger shouted, though, rather than the anger he had hoped for, his captor's response was a low chuckle, as he reached out and grabbed him by the throat,

"I don't need information from you." he informed him, "you'll serve as a message, one that I think I'll send back in pieces." Dellinger's eyes widened as he saw Katakuri's other hand reaching for what seemed to be a large trident, leaning against the nearby wall. "I'm going to enjoy thi-"

"BROTHER!" the door slammed against the wall as it flew open to reveal Cracker, thoroughly ruining Katakuri's mood. He sighed,

"This had better be important, Cracker, I was just getting to the best part."

"Ah, sorry." he..didn't really look sorry as he kept talking anyway, "it's time for dinner, Brulee says she'll be upset if you're late again."

"Very well, I'm coming." he turned to Dellinger, "I'll finish with you after supper. I would invite you to join us if you weren't...otherwise occupied." Dellinger glared at the man's back as he took his trident and left, though he did wonder why he needed such a weapon for that…

-twenty minutes later-

"Brulee, you've outdone yourself. This is delicious." Katakuri said,

"I hope you didn't get any blood in your meal. It would completely throw off the balance of the flavors." his sister answered.

"Of course not, I know better than that." he replied, "I really didn't get too far into playing with him before Cracker interrupted anyway."

"Why do you always insist on interrogating the prisoners yourself?! Why won't you let me do it sometimes?!" Cracker whined,

"I'm the head-"

"Yes! You're the head of the Charlotte house here, so you should do the boring stuff and look scary and let me have some fun!"

"...If I let you do that, Little Brother, we would never get any useful information. You lack restraint and can't tell if even a child is lying to you." Katakuri responded calmly, "Besides, I do take care of the boring stuff, interrogating people is stress relief."

"I have a report." Mont D'Or said, walking in and doing his best to ignore Brulee's glare.

"Sit and tell me as you eat." Katakuri ordered, "You're late."

"We have searched the rest of the property." Mont D'Or said as he obeyed, "But it seems that the rat you caught was the only one of Joker's men that stuck around."

"...the nerve of that man…" Katakuri growled, absentmindedly crushing the cup he held in his hand, "I'll tear him off his throne and burn his entire empire to the ground."

"Brother! I brought you something!" Flambe exclaimed, running into the room, completely oblivious to the tense atmosphere, "This guy was giving out free donuts!"

"Really?" Katakuri's demeanor completely changed at the thought, though it soon returned to its usual state when he realized that what his younger sister held was not a donut, but a bagel.

"Do you love it? Do you?" Flambe asked, grinning. Katakuri swallowed back his revulsion and nodded,

"Yes, thank you, Flambe." he said, "Though, it would make me even happier if you would take that...donut...and throw it into the fireplace."

"Okay!" the girl chirruped, rushing across the room to do as he had asked.

"...good riddance...imposter donut…" Katakuri muttered under his breath, just before Flambe said,

"Ooooh, look! It's turning pretty colors!" Her older siblings turned at once to stare at the flames that had turned from their normal red, to a purplish black.

"Get back!" Mont d'Or ordered, pulling the girl away from the fireplace.

"It seems as though someone had just attempted to assassinate me...with a bagel." Katakuri said quietly, "...I've never been so insulted in my life!"

"Now brother, perhaps you should ca-" Brulee began, only to be cut off,

"No! Cracker, gather our forces! I want these people found and destroyed!" the man ordered, picking up his trident, "Paint the streets red with their blood."

 

 

* * *

**UNKNOWN POV**

"TEAM BETA REQUESTING IMMEDIATE EXTRACTION...OR BACKUP...OR SOMETHING! WE WERE NOT PREPARED! I REPEAT, WE WERE NOT PREPARED!" the man attempted to continue yelling but found both his hand and the radio he had been using crushed in the iron grip of the feared "Dogtooth".

"I'll only ask this once." the man growled, "who sent you?!"

"Umm..uh….." the mercenary stood frozen in fear and shock, trying to find something, anything, to say, not that it would have mattered much as, seconds later, he found a trident buried in his throat.

"Too slow." 

 

 

* * *

**LAW'S POV**

"How exactly did your father manage to do this?" Kidd asked, staring in horror at the burnt out husk of what was supposedly a stove.

"...toast." Law answered stoically.

"ON THE STOVE?!" came the shouted response, to which Law shrugged,

"Cora-san, does things his own way. I don't question it."

"I think you should do more than question it considering this is the SIXTH time I've been over here to fix an appliance in the last MONTH!"

"It's not my fault you're the only one your company ever sends here, Eustass-ya." Law pointed out, "and it's not like we can keep Cora-san out of the kitchen."

"The ONLY reason I'm the one that keeps getting sent over here is that the others are all too terrified of your uncle to get within a hundred feet of this place." Kidd pointed out,

"...can't say I blame them. You should work on your self-preservation instincts, Eustass-ya."

"Law." Vergo said as he walked into the room, "Doffy has called a meeting. Bring the repair guy."

"...why?" Law asked, and Vergo scowled at him,

"Don't question the young master! Show some respect!" then he stalked out of the room. Law sighed,

"Ready to meet the family, Eustass-ya?" he asked,

"...do I have a choice?"

* * *

**DOFLAMINGO'S POV** (a few minutes earlier)

"...Dellinger did what?" Doflamingo asked, glaring up at Diamante through his sunglasses,

"He...went to gather information on Dogtooth."

"...and?"

"..he has….not returned...and we can't reach him…" Diamante admitted,

"...and why did you not think to stop him from doing something so idiotic?" Doflamingo asked, "If I had wanted to send someone to gather information on the Charlottes, it would not have been someone as obvious as him!" Diamante held up his hand placatingly in a futile attempt to calm his boss,

"I couldn't have stopped him! He just wanted to help, after all"

"Diamante, you're dismissed. Vergo, inform Law that I wish to speak with him." Doflamingo ordered, the latter stepped forward.

"Law is currently in the kitchen with the repairman from Franky's SUPER Repairs, discussing Corazon's unfortunate incident."

"Tell him to bring the red-head. He won't say anything, not with his background." Five minutes later, Doflamingo gestured for Law and Kidd to join him at the table and partake in the hors-d'oeuvres one of the help had delivered moments before.

"I thought you said the whole family would be at this meeting?" Kidd drawled as he sat, looking at Law.

"Am I not good enough for you? Obviously, Croc's not teaching you good manners, Kiddo" Doflamingo laughed, and Law sighed,

"What do you need? You never call me unless you want me to do something for you."

"All in good time, first, let's drink to the continued repair of our...very durable kitchen!" This earned the man an unimpressed look from both of the others, though they dare not refuse. The three raised their glasses and gently tapped them together in what might have been one of the most unenthusiastic toasts ever known, before taking a drink.

In the next moment, all hell broke loose. The next few moments were kind of a blur. All Doflamingo could remember was intense pain and suddenly, everything was much larger than it had been before. He shook his head in an attempt to clear it only to come face to face with a large paw as the sound of irritated growls filled the air.

"What the-"

"DOFLAMINGO WHAT HAVE YOU DONE?!" Doflamingo blinked down at what seemed to be a snow leopard growling angrily at him in Law's voice. That would make the massive grizzly bear next to him, Kidd, the repairman. He immediately glared at the only other person who had been in the room, the help, who was currently trying his hardest to get out of the room through a side door, panic written on his face.

 

 

* * *

**UNKNOWN POV**

"TEAM ALPHA INFILTRATION UNIT REPORTING IN, WE NEED BACKUP! THE SERUM WAS SUCCESSFUL, TARGET CONFIRMED TRANSFORMED. TWO UNEXPECTED VICTIMS ALSO CONFIRMED TRANSFORMED." the "help" shouted into his radio, "WE HAVE A FLAMINGO, A WILDCAT, AND A BROWN BEAR ON THE PREMISES! HEAVIER WEAPONS NECESSARY!"

 

* * *

**DOFLAMINGO'S POV**

"Alright, everyone calm down!" Doflamingo ordered, turning his attention away from where the man had disappeared, "I'll just call Corazon and we'll fix this." He reached towards his phone and froze, realizing at that moment that, instead of hands moving to pick up the device, all he saw were wings covered in bright pink feathers. "...I'm a bird…" he said in disbelief, "...really?!" Law made a sound that sounded suspiciously like a chuckle, and Doflamingo glared at him, "I don't want to hear another sound from you, Law!" he snapped, "WE have much bigger issues!" he turned his attention back to his phone, trying (and failing) to pick up the device with his new feathery appendages...which ended up looking like he was trying to fan the thing.

"You have a stylus, don't you?" Kidd pointed out, "just use your…" he paused a moment to try and fight back his own laugh, "beak."

Doflamingo didn't waste his time glaring at the...bear...though he did give him a few choice insults mentally as he twisted his head to pick up the stylus from where it lay. It took a few minutes, but he eventually managed to enter his password, open the correct app, and type in what he seriously hoped was his younger brother's number.

 

* * *

**CROCODILE'S POV**

His personal phone ringing was a welcome break from the endless pile of reports that had been pouring in nonstop that day. It was proving more difficult to balance the illegal and legal activities than Crocodile had anticipated. "Should set up something like birdbrain and his brother have." he mused, glancing at the ringing device, "oh, speak of the devil."

"What do you want this time, Birdbrain? I refuse to work with you." To his surprise, the only answer he received was in the form of a loud, agitated SQUAWK. Crocodile pulled the phone back, checked the ID, and returned it to his ear.

"Are you attempting to prank me, Birdbrain?" he drawled

"SCREEEEEECH SQUAAAAAAWK!" came the reply.

"Ah…" he was about to hang up but then the phone buzzed, requesting a video chat. He sighed and accepted, wondering if the other man was drunk or something. He froze when the video connected. "I'll be there in fifteen."


	3. Chapter 3

**LUFFY'S POV**

Luffy ran home after his last class of the day, not bothering to stop and say bye to his friends. He couldn't stop to talk, not when his big brother was in town and bringing meat for their extraordinarily late dinner. His roommate, Law, wasn't going to be there that evening, not that Luffy had told Ace that. He'd be more than happy to eat Law's portion himself.

He giggled to himself at the thought as he ran up the stairs, fishing his keys out of his pocket. It didn't matter that Ace's visit was unexpected and unexplained, he was bringing food and wanted to spend time with him, was willing to wait to eat until ten o'clock at night, that was enough, especially since they lived in different cities now.

The door flew open, slamming into the wall, as Luffy waltzed inside. (thankful that Law wasn't there to yell at him for his dramatic entrance) The nineteen-year-old was surprised to find a snack ready and waiting for him the second he entered the kitchen. He grinned and scooped up the chocolate donut, wondering if Ace had already arrived...though he had said he'd text him when he was close...before taking a big bite.

The next few moments, all Luffy knew was pain and the disorienting feeling of falling. Suddenly, the barstool next to him towered above him like a mountain, his clothes pooling around him uselessly. Confused, he attempted to untangle himself from his shirt, only to fall backward with a small squeak.

"What just happened?" he wondered, trying to stand and finding that, no matter how hard he tried, he simply couldn't. Confusion turned briefly to relief as he heard the loud booming sounds that he assumed were footsteps.

"Ace! Help!" he tried to cry but all he heard was a tiny, "mew!"

Then the feet came into view and his relief turned to fear as he saw that whoever this person was, it wasn't his brother.

 

* * *

**UNKNOWN POV**

"Team Delta reporting. Krieg speaking. Target confirmed transformed. Proceeding with extraction now." He shut off his radio and chuckled darkly as he walked towards the tiny kitten, trembling and tangled in a pile of the clothes he had been wearing. "Now now, nothing to be afraid of!" he crooned, his voice cracking at the attempt to sound sincere, "I'm gonna need you to get in this bag and then we'll go on a little trip!" He inched closer, fumbling to get the bag open.

He didn't expect the ball of fur to launch itself at his face, hissing and spitting, needle-like claws out and scratching. Krieg grabbed the kitten out of the air, but fell backward over the couch in the process, unable to correct his balance as he attempted to protect his eyes from the slashing attacks. He cursed.

"Oi, Morgan! Get in here and get this thing off of me!" he shouted to his partner.

"What? Thought you said he wouldn't be any trouble?" the other man replied, stepping into the room, leaving the door wide open. The kitten saw his chance apparently, twisting to bite at the hand that was holding him suspended in air.

Krieg dropped his captive, spitting curses, and the two humans began chasing the kitten around the room, destroying anything that got in the way. Unfortunately for their target, when he decided to head for the door, he tripped over his own paws and tumbled head over heels until he came to a stop against one large black boot. A hand came down and roughly grabbed the kitten by the scruff. Krieg grinned menacingly as he lifted the creature, bringing him to eye level and shaking him roughly.

"Thought you could get away?" he laughed, grinning at the disoriented look in the kitten's eyes before he stuffed the tiny cat into the bag Morgan held open and ready. "As if you could escape!"

He began walking out of the trashed apartment, grabbing the bag from the partner he didn't quite trust, lecturing all the while about how superior he was, poking at the fabric, amused...until the bag swung and a claw dug into the sensitive skin in between two fingers. Krieg cursed and threw the bag, not quite realizing where he had thrown it until Morgan gasped and shouted,

"We need him alive, you idiot!" He had thrown the bag down the stairs, where it landed and rolled a few times, out onto the sidewalk. Both men ran after it, diving towards their prize...only to be stopped by the ominous clang of a large metal pole slamming into the ground in front of it.

"You know," growled a deep voice from above them, "I'm a firm believer that there is a special place in hell for people like you." Krieg and Morgan froze and slowly looked up, instantly flinching away at the sight of the deadly trident, dripping with blood, and the man that held it.

"Y-you're…." 

 

* * *

**KATAKURI'S POV**

Katakuri, as head of the family, didn't often get the chance to rampage. He'd forgotten just how fun it was. He'd taken care of almost every person that had been lurking around his territory but one had decided it was in his best interest to run for it and, well, Katakuri just couldn't resist giving chase.

After catching, and subsequently impaling him with his trident, the streets had been unusually quiet for a moment, until the sounds of a struggle split the air once again. Curious, Katakuri followed the sound to a nearby apartment complex, walking up just in time to see a strange man wearing...armor?...shake, yell at, and throw a bag that contained some sort of struggling creature. Katakuri saw red, stalking forward to plant his trident firmly in front of the scarily still bag, stopping the two men in their tracks.

"You know, I'm a firm believer that there is a special place in hell for people like you," he informed them, enjoying the terror that filled their eyes as they realized just who was standing before them.

"Y-you're…" one of them managed to get out. Katakuri smirked, not that they could see that, amused, though no less angry.

"...Dogtooth...you're...you're supposed to….why are you here?!" one gasped. This caught Katakuri's attention. Perhaps these pieces of trash were in league with the ones from earlier...not that he needed any further excuse to kill them.

"HA!" The armored man shouted, leaping to his feet in a show of false bravery, "You can't kill me! I'm protected by impenetrable armor and you've got a glorified fork!" The man's comrade backed away, watching in horror as his partner continued, "I don't know why one such as yourself would stoop so low to protect useless, mangy furballs like this anyway!"

In the brief moment of silence that followed the man's taunts, the occupant of the bag that had started the encounter stirred, letting out a low, pained mewl. Katakuri didn't allow the armored man to say another word. His hand shot out and grabbed the man's unprotected face, squeezing hard enough to fracture bones as he lifted him off the pavement. From that angle, the man could clearly see the reason Katakuri wore his signature scarf, not that he would be able to tell anyone, as moments later, the dripping trident pierced through his armor as though it was paper. Katakuri dropped the corpse, twisting his trident free to face the other man.

"You...you're coming with me." he swung the handle of his weapon up and around, knocking the man unconscious instantly. Once that was dealt with, he set the weapon down and turned to the more pressing problem. Katakuri knelt and scooped up the bag, carefully opening it to reveal the limp, trembling body of a half-conscious black kitten with odd white markings. Looking at the poor creature, he almost wished he hadn't killed the armored man quite so quickly...almost.

"Brother! We need to leave!" Cracker called as he ran up, though he paused at the odd scene before him. "Wha-"

"That one's alive. Take him back to the house." Katakuri ordered, ignoring his brother's question in favor of gently wrapping the half-dead kitten in one of the loose ends of his scarf before picking up his trident and stalking away, leaving approximately fifteen corpses in his wake.

 

* * *

**UNKNOWN POV**

"Team Beta reporting. Mission failure. Team Delta one dead, one captured. Target confirmed transformed, unable to extract."

"What do you mean unable to extract?!" came the angry reply to the man's whispered report, "Team Beta was the biggest and strongest team!"

"Team Beta...everyone else is dead!" the man replied, "I'm the only survivor!"

"What does this have to do with the failed capture of the brat?"

"Dogtooth...he took him from the site, along with one member of Team Delta. Target was...unconscious."

"...if only Dogtooth had been changed as well." Teach sighed, "This makes things a lot more complicated."


	4. Chapter 4

**ACE'S POV**

Ace walked quickly down the street, carrying five bags full of food, cursing his narcolepsy for doing this at the worst time and making him late for supper with his brother.

 _"Lu's probably starving by now, it's almost midnight."_ he thought as he turned the corner to the familiar apartment complex. He was in such a hurry that he almost missed it...almost...the sight of a mangled corpse really was hard to miss. He dropped the bags, heart rate skyrocketing as he took in the scene. The corpse, the obvious signs of a struggle, the skid marks on the pavement. Ace's gaze swung to the stairs that led up to his brother's apartment. He couldn't see anything yet, but dread began to fill his veins. He raced forward, stopping at the foot of the stairs and trying his best not to panic as he saw the dark liquid spattered across a few of the steps.

"Luffy?" he called, though he wasn't sure why...his brother should be safe inside his apartment, unable to hear his voice. He dashed up the stairs, only to freeze in horror in front of the door that opened into the once immaculate apartment. He hardly dared to breathe as he stepped inside, if his hands were shaking he paid them no attention, staring in shock at the overturned furniture and broken glass.

"Luffy?!" he yelled, praying for an answer of some kind from where his baby brother had hidden or something in one of the other rooms. All he heard was silence. In the silence, he looked around once more, this time catching sight of a pile of familiar clothes, laying twisted and crumpled up on the floor near the kitchen. Ignoring the shards of glass, Ace knelt to scoop up the discarded clothing, trying to stay calm.

"...this...this can't be happening…" he muttered, "...Lu…." obviously, his brother had fought but...if this was the outcome…Ace took a deep breath and reached for his phone, trying to figure out who to call first. There were so many people that needed to know...Marco first, he'd help to calm the panic rising up in Ace's chest. Though the dial tone did nothing to help his anxiety as he waited.

"Ace, what's up-yoi?" Marco asked, his voice instantly helping to calm the younger man's breathing.

"MARCOOOOOOOOOOOOOO" Ace sobbed, "MAAAAARRRCOOOOO! LUUUUUUUUUUUUUU!"

"...Ace? Ace, calm down-yoi." Marco replied, concern obvious, "Breathe,"

"Ma-mar-marco! I-I can't- Lu-he's-IcameheretohavedinnerwithhimbutIwaslateandIthinkhewasrapedandkidnappedbutthere'sacorpseand-"

"ACE!" Marco snapped, "BREATHE! Slow down and start over, _slowly_." Ace nodded, though he knew Marco couldn't see him, and took a deep breath, which helped even though he felt like his heart was going to burst out of his chest any second.

"I- I came here to-to have su-supper with Lu." he began, words punctuated by stifled sobs, "Bu-but I was l-late...stupid narcolepsy….and - and, I got here and there's this- this corpse outside, and bl-blood on the stairs, and Luffy-Luffy's place is a mess...and…" he trailed off looking down at the clothes in his arms.

"Ace?"

"...He's not here, Marco." he said quietly, "He's not here but...but his...his clothes are." Marco didn't want that to mean what he thought it meant, not at all.

"It's his apartment, Ace, you shouldn't jump to-"

"He sent me a selfie earlier…" Ace interrupted, hysteria trying to find its way back into his voice, "He was wearing this today, plus Law would never let him leave clothes lying around." Marco fell silent for a moment before saying,

"Hold on, I'm getting Pops." and Ace was left alone with his thoughts for a minute as he listened to what he assumed was the other man rushing to Pops' room. There was a large amount of jumbled conversation for a few minutes before Pops' voice came through,

"Ace? Marco told me what happened," he said, just the sound of his voice going a long way towards calming the young man's frazzled nerves.

"Pops…"

"I want you to stay there. I'm sending Marco and Thatch to assist you. Do not leave until they get there. We will do whatever it takes to find him and make those who did this pay with their lives." Pops assured him, nearly making Ace burst into tears all over again.

"...you got it, Boss."

* * *

**SMOKER'S POV**

Smoker believed that he might actually be experiencing the worst day of his entire life. First, his partner of ten years was poisoned and hospitalized, stuck in a coma. THEN he'd shown up to work after a night in the hospital to find that calls were pouring in reporting that people were literally dying in the streets, over five thousand in all. The nobles were already calling for martial law, something that could not be allowed since the second that plan was approved, one of the warring gangs would seize control. Smoker could not let that happen, not in his city.

On top of that, one hundred and fifty missing person cases had been called in, though that number was still rising along with the random and completely infuriating calls from people that were concerned with the number of stray animals that had appeared in the city overnight. PLUS the sixteen mangled corpses found early in the morning by unfortunate civilians. It really was not a good day.

"Vergo, I want you to handle the murders." Smoker ordered, handing over the case file.

"...I think I would be more useful on the missing person's case." Vergo protested, but Smoker shook his head,

"You've worked homicide before, these younger brats don't have the experience needed for this case." _'and...this is my city, my district...this happened while I was on duty'_

Before the other man could reply, the door to the station burst open to reveal the familiar form of one of the volunteer firefighters,

"I NEED TO SPEAK WITH SMOKER!" Ace shouted the second he was inside.

"...I thought today couldn't get worse." the man in question muttered before making his way towards the front of the building.

"SMOKER!"

"What is it, Portgas? I'm a bit busy."

"SMOKER! MY LITTLE BROTHER IS GONE!" Ace yelled. Smoker sighed.

"...you and everyone else...file a report and-"

"No! It's not the same!" Ace protested, "I've been watching the news but...this is different!"

"How so?" Smoker asked and braced himself for another barrage of shouted information.

"Ace, go wait with Thatch while I explain this," Marco said, appearing behind the younger man, who had indeed been about to shout the details of his brother's case.

"...Phoenix." Smoker growled,

"Smoker." Marco replied stoically, "Ace, go outside with Thatch. Now." Ace sighed and did as he was told, his silence and sudden loss of energy allowing the detective to notice how pale the other man was.

"His brother-"

"Is different from the other cases." Marco interrupted, "he didn't just vanish into thin air. We have a crime scene." That got Smoker's attention.

"A crime scene? He's not...dead, is he?"

"I certainly hope not, there'd be no consoling Ace if he was." Marco muttered, "He was...abducted, there are signs of a struggle but nothing to indicate that the boy himself is dead. However...there are also signs of...other...things."

"...what other things?" Smoker asked though he was almost completely certain that he didn't want to hear the answer.

"It appears that he was...sexually assaulted, kidnapped, and then taken from his original captor." Marco said bluntly, "there's a dead body on the scene with...particular wounds." Smoker suddenly looked decades older than he was, dropping his face into his hand as he sighed,

"Of all the times for something like this to happen…" he muttered, "I'll put you in touch with Captain Jonathan in the Special Victims Unit...that's, well, that's about all I can do at the moment."

"Of all the things to happen right now with everything else going on...I wish I could help them. That brat's annoying but he's a good kid."

"I'll let Ace know," Marco replied, turning to leave.

"Phoenix." Smoker called after him, making the man pause, "don't do anything illegal, not in this case. You have to let us handle it." He was rewarded by the appearance of a small, predatory smirk as the blonde looked back at him.

"That kid's got so many powerful people wrapped around his finger...you better hope you find whoever did this first." then he was gone, rejoining his friends outside. Smoker couldn't watch as Marco spoke to Ace, knowing just how powerless he actually was in this situation.


	5. Chapter 5

**THATCH'S POV**

Thatch had no idea what to do with a crying Ace. Angry Ace he could deal with, and that was something that most people couldn't say. It wasn't that he wasn't _willing_ to, but he was not prepared to hold Whitebeard's second division commander as he cried, soaking the shoulder of his coat. He had never seen Ace so vulnerable and the sight honestly scared him which is why, after leaving Ace with Marco, Thatch set off into the city.

The situation was...not the best. Thatch knew Moby like the back of his hand. He knew every alley, every hideout. He knew who ran the city and every branch of shady activity that took place. But Water Seven was completely different, with its warring gangs and unchecked dealings. He needed to know how the system worked which is why he was tracking down the information broker known as The Magician. Maybe, if he was lucky, the broker would have information on the location of Ace's little brother. He needed Ace to smile again and would do anything and everything it took to wipe the despair off of _his_ little brother's face.

As he entered The Scarecrow, a rather rundown fortuneteller's shop, he assumed that the only man in the room was the person he was looking for.

"I've been expecting you," the man said as he shuffled his cards, "Not to worry, there is a 92% chance that the boy is alive, though there is only a 45% chance that he will return unscathed."

"...you must be The Magician." Thatch replied, "If you know where Luffy is, you'd better tell me right now."

"The dog keeps him safely tucked away in his den, although he must keep constant watch for the jealous hyena's game."

"Man, when they said you talk in riddles they really weren't kidding," Thatch groaned, "can't you just give me a straight answer? A kid's _life_ is in danger!" The Magician shuffled his cards again, showing no interest in his visitor,

"Did I not just tell you that he has a 92% chance?" he replied calmly, "The cards never lie, the odds are in his favor." Thatch sighed,

"Alright, fine. Then who's this dog?"

"There are many in this city, all vying for the same throne." At this moment, Thatch was almost completely certain that tearing his hair out and slamming his head into a wall would be of more use than this man's mutterings but he did his best to remain calm.

"I need information about the leaders in the city." Thatch tried again, "I need to know who runs what and how the city is split up. I also need information on all recent black market deals in the area, or even passing through the area. Anything that could get us closer to finding the kid."

"You ask for much," The Magician mused, "And if I were to tell you all that you wish to know, the chance of my death is 100%." he briefly glanced up from his cards before returning to shuffling the things, "I will tell you this. There are two main powers in the city, both of which are extremely dangerous, but a third darkness grows stronger with every moment it spends hiding in the shadows. The balance of power is shifting rapidly and the boy is at the center of it all, hence the 42% chance that he will come out unscathed."

"You lowered the percentage." Thatch said, frowning.

"Did I?" The Magician asked, unconcerned.

"Yes. You said 45 earlier and now it's 42." Thatch drawled, absolutely certain that he was wasting his time.

"Well, the cards never lie." came the calm response

"Yeah, yeah, alright." Thatch turned to leave, calling over his shoulder, "Thanks for the...help."

"Before you leave," The Magician began, making the other man pause, "I will point you in the right direction. Follow the trail of blood and you will find him." Thatch gaped,

"...oh yeah, that makes me feel sooooo much better about this situation."

"I am merely giving you the help you asked for." The Magician said, "Do be careful in your search. There are many dangerous players involved."

"I'll...keep that in mind." Thatch said, finally leaving the dingy little shop.

_"yeah...that was...disturbing. He obviously knew more than he was letting on. Whoever the major players are in this city, they're dangerous enough to scare even the information brokers into silence...great…"_ he frowned for a moment, trying to make sense of the encounter before sighing, _"well, I'll tell Marco and see what he thinks. Good ol'Pineapple Head always knows what to do! And...I think I'll let him tell Ace…"_

* * *

**LAW'S POV (a few hours earlier)**

Law wondered just how long Crocodile was going to sit on the floor laughing at their predicament. It didn't make it any better that Doflamingo kept trying to yell at him but every time he did, it only came out as SQUAWK, accompanied by the furious whacking of the laughing man with pink-feathered wings.

"Alright, alright." Crocodile wheezed, trying to get his breath back as he stood, "I get it, but…" he snorted, "this is just too much."

Law watched, fascinated, as Doffy seemed to snarl, something a bird technically wasn't capable of doing, but before he could attempt another lecture (and trigger another round of laughter), the door burst open revealing two men with massive guns followed by approximately eight more with what appeared to be cattle prods.

For a moment, the men froze under the intense glare of a furious flamingo before Crocodile broke the silence,

"Are those my guns?" he asked, voice deadly serious.

"...TAKE THEM DOWN!" one of the gunmen yelled, signaling the beginning of a very...odd fight.

It consisted of the awkward flapping of Doflamingo as he screamed insults in the form of squawks and screeches, attempting to do damage of any kind to their assailants...before slipping and falling sideways on the slippery floor. Kidd, for his part, attempted to...bear...as shown in documentaries on tv, but misjudged his weight to mass ratio and fell backward, where he was stuck for the next few minutes as Law attempted to help him roll over, griping the entire time.

"...why the heck are you so fat?" he asked, attempting to push at the large body.

"I'm not fat you jerk! It's fur! This is just how I'm built." Kidd replied angrily, to which Law snorted,

"You settled in quick, Eustass-ya." The only person who actually managed to do some damage to the enemy was...the only actual person they had. Crocodile, angry at the sudden turn of events, managed to shoot down half of their force before they knew what hit them, gravely wounding a few more with his massive, poison hook before one of them managed to shoot and hit him with some sort of dart.

The next thing they knew, their odd group had been joined by an actually, infuriated crocodile.

"...I suggest we retreat." Crocodile said as calmly as he could, "I can no longer fight."

"You don't have to tell me twice!" the newly righted bear grumbled and proceeded to throw himself out of the nearest window. The others didn't even think before following him.

* * *

**TEACH'S POV**

Teach threw his radio against the wall as hard as he possibly could.

"YOU'RE ALL A BUNCH OF IDIOTS!" he roared, "HOW HARD IS IT TO TAKE OUT FIVE TARGETS?!"

No one met his gaze or dared to move a muscle.

"FIRST, YOU MISS SMOKER AND HINA IS NOT EVEN AFFECTED BY THE SERUM. THEN, YOU MIX UP THE BAIT FOR DOGTOOTH AND THE MONKEY BRAT! WHICH APPARENTLY COST SIXTEEN PEOPLE THEIR LIVES! AND THE BRAT IS IN THE HANDS OF DOGTOOTH, WHO IS, MIGHT I ADD _INSANE_! OH AND THEN, AS THOUGH THAT WASN'T ENOUGH, YOU HAD TO GO AND LOSE JOKER, WHO SHOULD HAVE BEEN THE EASIEST TARGET SINCE HE WAS A GIANT PINK BIRD!"

"Now, now, Boss. We'll figure this out. You've already managed to kill thousands of people in the city, even if the main targets are still at large." Lafitte, put in placatingly, "We'll still have plenty of chances to catch them, we've already caught a good amount of animals anyway."

"I guess you're right," Teach admitted, "The plan isn't...completely ruined. HOWEVER, I need more firepower if I'm going to go against the Charlotte family."

"We have our allies, Boss." Burgess pointed out,

"Zehahahaha, you're right! Contact...him."

* * *

**LUFFY'S POV**

Everything hurt and he couldn't move. That was literally the only thing Luffy knew as he struggled to open his eyes. He could tell that he was surrounded by something very soft, and beyond that, there was something that looked like...wood?...and beyond that...a dark room.

He attempted to shift one of his arms, wondering what exactly had happened, but immediately regretted that decision as his muscles protested. That was when he looked and realized that he no longer had arms. Instead, he had four legs covered in fuzzy black fur that could barely be seen between thick layers of clean bandages.

Ignoring the pain, Luffy attempted to force himself to his feet, once again regretting the motion, as he swore he felt something tear under one of the pieces of gauze.

"Owww." he groaned, settling back down, panting from the momentary exertion. As he lay there helpless, alone in a strange, dark place, Luffy felt as though the walls were closing in on him. If there was one thing he hated, it was being alone.

"...oi, Ace…" he managed to get out past the lump forming in his throat as his breathing quickened, "Ace? Sabo? Oi….where…..help! Please….please...don't leave me…" he cried, completely breaking down until words were no longer making their way into what would have been great shuddering sobs had he been human.

He wasn't expecting the sudden brightness that made him blink in shock, eyes trying desperately to adjust. "Ace? Sabo?" he tried again, but the concerned face that appeared above him was not familiar, did nothing to stop the panic trying to strangle him.

* * *

**KATAKURI'S POV**

Katakuri was alerted that his new cat was awake by the sudden, heartbreaking mewls coming from his bedroom. He quickly dropped what he was doing, rushing into the other room to see what was wrong. He assumed that the kitten was in pain, thanks to the extensive injuries inflicted by those...scum. The vet had insisted that he would be fine but had warned Katakuri that he would likely be in a lot of pain when he woke up.

Thanks to the vet, he had expected the mewls of pain. What he hadn't expected was the clearly terrified look in the kitten's eyes, the rapid breathing, and the panicked reaction to his presence, the tiny creature trying his hardest to back away and escape the basket he'd placed him in.

"Shhh, come now," Katakuri said quietly, calmly, trying his best to appear non-threatening, "Come now, it's okay."

That...didn't seem to help much...if anything..it might have made it worse. Katakuri's eyes widened in shock as the kitten's breathing somehow sped up even more, tiny patches of red beginning to show where his movement had torn wounds open.

Acting on instinct, and remembering when he'd been on babysitting duty...one of the MANY times... Katakuri scooped the tiny animal up and held him against his chest, awkwardly attempting to calm the kitten like he would a baby, swaying and quietly speaking, anything to calm the distraught little cat.

That still didn't quite work. Katakuri sighed and sat on his bed, laying back and cradling the kitten to him, gently stroking along his spine with one careful finger. That was where he stayed until the kitten calmed, his breathing evening out as he fell back asleep, exhausted by his own terror.

_"Can't believe this…"_ Katakuri thought, _"a few days ago I was rampaging through the city, mutilating people...now I've got an injured kitten on my chest...it's...nice."_ at that moment, the kitten yawned, drawing the ghost of a smile onto Katakuri's face.

_"I think...I think I'll keep him._ " he decided, closing his own eyes, content for that brief moment.

* * *

**ACE'S POV**

Over the past couple of days, literally some of the worst of his entire life, Ace had spent hours with Captain Jonathan going over every detail of the crime scene. The blood on the staircase had been identified as Luffy's, which he would not admit he spent two hours crying over in the bathroom, and both Marco and Thatch had repeatedly had to keep him from stomping on the already mutilated face of the now identified, Don Krieg.

As far as the police could tell, the crime had happened around the time Ace had been supposed to meet up with his brother. It was likely that someone had been waiting for him in the apartment and had waited to make sure he was alone before striking, catching the teen unaware. There was a fight, that much was obvious from the state of the room and the blood spatter around the overturned furniture. The pile of clothes, twisted and wrinkled, along with the small droplets of blood found primarily on Luffy's shirt, blood that was identified as belonging to Krieg, led the police to believe that, once the teenager was relatively subdued, he had been sexually assaulted before being dragged from the scene, at least one wound bad enough to leave the trail of blood down the stairs to the sidewalk. From there...they were less certain on the events.

It was entirely likely that Krieg had not been working alone, which left the police with more questions. Had his partner turned on him at the end of the deal or was there a third party that had made an appearance as they attempted to make their getaway. Had the motive been trafficking, there might have been a falling out among those involved, tensions rising with the question of how to split the money or who would get the boy.

Basically, Ace was very tired. Tired of worrying, tired of crying, tired of everything.

"You've gotta sleep, Ace, you're no help to the investigation if you're dead on your feet." Thatch pointed out, concerned.

"I can't sleep." Ace replied, voice dead, hollow, "not until he's safe." Marco frowned,

"...Ace.." he began, putting a hand on his shoulder, only for the younger man to slap it away.

"You don't understand!" he shouted, "You just...you don't get it!" he glared at them, trying desperately to ignore the tears welling up in his eyes once again, "this IS MY FAULT! If...if I had been there! IF I WAS AN ACTUAL GOOD OLDER BROTHER AND SHOWED UP ON TIME I COULD HAVE HELPED HIM!" he gasped for air, "If I was there...this wouldn't have happened! He wouldn't have ended up on the black market being sold as some...possession...this...I...I just…." he cut himself off, shutting his eyes against the bleak reality that threatened to overwhelm him, "I...I can't rest until he's safe. Even if it kills me."

*SLAP*

Ace stared in shock at Marco as the man withdrew his hand, blue eyes alight with fury.

"Don't you EVER say that again!" he commanded, "This is NOT your fault, this is the fault of sorry excuses for human beings that targeted your brother in the first place." he made sure the younger man was looking him in the eye when he added. "Ace, we will find your brother, and when we do, we will make sure every person that _dared_ lay a hand on him will wish they were never born."

"...thanks, Marco." Ace muttered, "that...that helps…" Marco sighed,

"Go get some rest, Ace." Ace stood to make his way to his bed in their shared hotel room, only making it a few steps before he stopped, going unnaturally still.

"Ace?" Thatch asked, "What's wrong?"

"I...I forgot to call Sabo." Ace whispered, face pale.

"You...YOU WHAT?!" Marco exclaimed in disbelief, "Ace, did you call ANYONE but us?!"

"...no...I forgot, with everything that's going on," he admitted,

"Call him." Marco ordered grimly, "he has connections that might be useful if we really are investigating a trafficking ring. Just...leave the rest of us out of whatever punishment he has in mind for your forgetfulness. Call anyone else who _needs_ to know as well."

Ace nodded and continued on his original path to his bed, plopping down and staring at his phone as though it was a bomb that might go off at any second. With a sigh, he scrolled through his contacts and found Sabo's name, hitting the call button as dread shot through him. He was almost relieved when his brother didn't pick up on the first ring, but that relief was short-lived, as it connected on the second.

"Hello? Ace?" Sabo's voice, familiar and reassuring came through the phone and the stupid tears he'd been trying (and failing) to keep away once more filled his eyes.

"Sabo…" he said shakily,

"What's wrong?" Sabo asked, knowing instantly that something bad had happened.

Ace haltingly explained every detail of the situation, including the current assumptions made by the police force, no matter how hard it was to force the words past his lips.

"...and _why_ didn't you tell me the moment you found out about this?" Sabo asked, his voice deceptively calm. Ace winced,

"I panicked." he answered honestly, "I wasn't sure what to do and...I...I was ashamed...this is..how could I face you having lost our brother? I...it's my…"

"No. Ace, calm down. No matter how angry I am that you didn't tell me sooner, you need to realize that none of this is your fault." Sabo informed him, "None of it. At all. You can't help Luffy by placing blame."

"...okay…" Ace didn't quite believe him, as he hadn't quite believed Marco, but he said the words anyway.

"I'm buying a plane ticket as we speak, I'll be there in the morning. Ace, you need to sleep. I can hear how exhausted you are." Sabo told him, "I swear, I _will_ find the individual, or individuals, who have done this and I will _gladly_ watch as the life drains from their eyes." his voice went cold towards the end, finally giving away a fraction of the fury flowing through him.

"Okay then, I guess I'll -"

"Oh, hang on, Dragon's here. I need to tell him." Sabo interrupted.

"Tell me what?" Ace went silent, listening as Sabo handled the situation.

"So I have a plane ticket, I need to pack and head for the airport as soon as possible." Sabo finished,

"...why?"

"Luffy is...missing," Sabo said and Ace could have sworn he felt the anger radiating through the phone, though no voices were raised.

"What happened?" Dragon asked, voice hard.

"Basically, he was abducted. I'll tell you the rest while I pack. Ace, call whoever else you _forgot_ to tell about this and get some rest. I'll see you in the morning."

"Alright, see you then." Ace replied, hanging up and staring at a name further down on his list of contacts. His next call likely wouldn't be so...calm.

Shanks answered on the first ring with his usual cheerful greeting,

"Ace! What's up, man, haven't heard from you in forever!" the energetic man didn't wait for an answer before he plowed on, "Is Anchor there? I meant to call him last night to tell him to look at how big the moon was!" Ace felt as though his heart had stopped but he managed to get out,

"Hey, um, is Benn there?"

"What? Yeah, he's right here, you're on speaker." Shanks answered happily,

"I'm here. What happened, Ace?" Benn asked, like Sabo he instantly knew that something was wrong.

"What do you mean?" Shanks asked, and the other man sighed.

"Ace never asks for me, never calls, and you think something _isn't_ wrong?" Benn drawled, "Ace, start talking." 

And so he did, telling once again, the events of three days previous, followed by the suspicions of the police. For a moment there was silence, but then...

_"What did you just say?"_ Shanks asked, sounding as though he was trying (and failing) not to shout.

"Yeah...Luffy's...gone...we have no leads, no idea where he could possibly be...and the police force is currently assuming that he's a victim of some trafficking ring." Ace spat out, the words leaving the taste of bile behind.

"Shanks, sit down!" Benn exclaimed suddenly,

"No! Don't try to stop me, Benn! I'm going over there RIGHT NOW!"

"To do what?!"

"TO KILL 'EM!"

"...to kill...who?"

"EVERYONE WHO EVER LAID A HAND ON MY ANCHOR!" Shanks roared, followed by a crashing sound that Ace assumed was...a chair maybe?

"We need more information, Shanks, we can't rush over there knowing nothing!" Benn reasoned,

"WE'D BE MORE USEFUL TEARING THE CITY APART THAN SITTING AROUND TWIDDLING OUR THUMBS!" Shanks shot back,

"Shanks, I understand that he's your godson but you're the leader of one of the most powerful mafias in the state." Benn pointed out, "You can't just waltz into another city like that! You could make it even _harder_ to find Luffy! We MUST approach this rationally,"

"...FINE." Shanks spat out grumpily,

"Ace, we'll do everything we can from this end," Benn said calmly

"BUT, if you get a lead and need help, call me and I'll be there as soon as possible." Shanks interrupted,

"...thanks, that...that means a lot, I'll keep you updated." Ace replied, glad the conversation was drawing to a close.


	6. Chapter 6

**CROCODILE'S POV**

How it got to this point, he wasn't sure, but he was currently attempting to hold a family hostage while the others raided the fridge...well, the younger two did, and the bird sat on the island supervising and offering... _helpful_ tips.

"Maybe if you-"

"Shut up." Law interrupted, "You're really not helping. Go help the lizard."

"Stupid fridge. Stupid lack of opposable thumbs." Kidd muttered. Doffy laughed, something they all wished he would stop doing since his signature chuckle was...wrong coming from a flamingo.

"Stop arguing and get the food!" Crocodile snapped, terrifying the family since all they heard was a drawn-out hiss.

A few minutes later, they finally managed to get the fridge open, only to find that they had chosen the wrong house. The fridge was full of nothing but vegetables, bottles of meal replacement shakes, baby food, and two loaves of bread.

"Where's the meat?!" Kidd growled, "No one can live on this alone!"

"We've wasted too much time here." Crocodile called from the living room, "grab _something_ and let's go!"

Thirty minutes later, in the relative safety of the alley, they'd claimed as their own, they looked over the food they'd managed to plunder from the unlucky family they'd targeted.

"WHY DID YOU GRAB BOTH LOAVES OF BREAD?!" Law asked furiously, "You could have grabbed more vegetables!"

"I don't like vegetables," Kidd explained, shrugging his massive shoulders.

"Law, we can't afford to be picky." Doffy said seriously, "Sometimes you have to eat whatever you can find to survive. We're lucky this isn't garbage."

_"That's a bit out of character for the old bird…"_ Crocodile thought, studying his feathery rival.

"Well let's just eat what we've got." Kidd said, "It's not like-" he didn't get a chance to finish his sentence as he slumped forward, eyes rolling back in his head, tongue falling out of his mouth.

The rest of them didn't really have a chance to react as nets descended on the other creatures, teams of people tackling and muzzling Law, Crocodile, and the unconscious Kidd. As Crocodile struggled, ominous footsteps approached,

"You thought you could escape _me_?! Me, Breed, the best animal control officer this side of the red line?!" an unpleasant voice shrieked, "I have been tracking your strange group since you appeared on the streets! There was never any hope for you!"

As the animals continued to struggle, they were dragged away to the waiting trucks, locked in cages, and taken away.

* * *

**LUCCI'S POV**

Upon receiving word that a flamingo, a crocodile, a snow leopard, and a bear had been taken into custody by Water Seven Animal Control, Lucci knew he had to visit them. The group had reportedly worked together to hold an entire family hostage as they raided the fridge and retreated with their finds, sharing the food equally between all of them, even though, by all rights, they should have been fighting tooth and claw for a majority share or, more likely, a piece of meat from one of the others' hides.

Odd animals combined with the mass disappearances? That was enough to make anyone suspicious...anyone with a brain that is...

Unnoticed by any of the staff in the shelter, Lucci made his way to the cages holding the four creatures and stood observing them until he had the attention of each one.

"Can you understand me?" he asked calmly, watching as the four exchanged looks and nodded in response. "Great, then I'm going to do you a favor, and release you."

That gained him wary looks from all of the animals, none more hostile than the flamingo's obsidian glare.

"That's all, I swear." Lucci assured the animals, "I want nothing in return."

He unlocked the cages without waiting for their response, pulling the doors wide open and walking away. It only took a moment for the menagerie to run past him and out the door into the clear night air.

He didn't mention the fact that all four of the animals had been chipped while they were...otherwise distracted. They would be recaptured within the hour but, hopefully, they would be sent somewhere where they could hide more efficiently.

Lucci didn't know why he stuck around after the animals disappeared into the night, but he was glad he did if only so he could see the heavily armed men that burst into the facility soon after, proving his theory correct.

"Gentlemen," he greeted them, "I have been waiting."

"IT'S A COP!" one man shouted, "SHOOT HIM!"

_"...I'm not a cop…"_ Lucci thought though he was more than happy to give them a fight if they wanted one.

For some reason, his assailants were abnormally slow to reach for weapons loaded with anything other than tranquilizers, not that Lucci cared since that allowed him to take several of them down as they struggled. Most of the team panicked in the face of the sudden attack, overwhelmed by the bloodlust pouring off of the man. Within the next two and a half minutes, almost every member of the team was very obviously dead, the calm expression never leaving the face of the unarmed man they'd thought would be an easy target.

Lucci turned and reached for his phone to report in, certain that his would-be attackers were staying down. He should have checked one more time. A dart hit him in the back as one man used the last of his energy to fire the loaded weapon one of his comrades had dropped during the massacre.

Seconds later, Lucci looked down in fascination at his new paws, having barely even noticed the pain of transforming.

_"Well that was unexpected."_ he mused, turning his head to see the long tail waving around behind him, _"Now I know what happened to the others...but not who did it…"_

* * *

**LUFFY'S POV**

Luffy had never thought that a single room could take so long to explore. Normally, it probably wouldn't have even been _that_ big, but as he was now, the room was like a castle with many nooks and crannies to investigate.

After the man, now identified as Charlotte Katakuri, one of the main leaders of the underground in the city that Ace had _repeatedly_ warned him about, had moved his basket to the floor Luffy had spent every possible moment trying to get his bearings...and maybe find a way out to go find Ace, who would _definitely_ know how to fix this.

Speaking of, the man hadn't let Luffy out of his sight since he'd first regained consciousness, sitting around and just...watching...studying the kitten's movements with an unreadable expression on his face that sometimes became a small smile if Luffy did something that was amusing. He had an odd mouth with large, sharp teeth and stitches up the sides of his face, something Luffy thought was really cool even if it made the man even scarier than he already was.

As Luffy limped around the room, looking for something to get into, he noticed the large mirror sitting on top of the dresser and stared up at it.

"I want to see." he said decisively, trying to ignore the mewl that came out instead of words, "I need to see what I look like!"

"What is it, Cat?" Katakuri's voice rumbled from far above him as he came to stand beside Luffy's tiny body.

Luffy flinched and shrank away from the man. He had treated him kindly in the week since he'd woken up, feeding him and taking care of his wounds, but Luffy didn't fully trust the man, not while he was so vulnerable and weak. Unfortunately, Katakuri didn't seem to care about that as he bent down and scooped the kitten up, ignoring his shrill protests.

"Here." the man said, carefully placing Luffy in front of the mirror.

Staring back at him was the tiniest, fluffiest black kitten he had ever seen...himself. His own eyes stared out of the little face with too big ears twitching on top of his head. His scars, the one under his eye from the time he'd attempted to show Shanks how brave he was, and the large one on his chest from the fire he'd survived when he was a child, were now white splotches of fur. His paws seemed a bit too big as well, giving him an excuse for how clumsy he was...other than the fact that he was used to two legs, not four. His attention was drawn briefly to the little tail he now possessed, before Katakuri's hand appeared to hover over him momentarily, beginning to gently stroke the fur along Luffy's spine. This was yet another thing that he wasn't sure of, enjoying getting petted. If someone had tried this on him when he was..himself...that wasn't one of his friends, his brothers, or Shanks, Luffy would have broken their arm...yet here he was, flopped onto his side, purring as this massive mob boss scratched under his chin.

This was all a lot to take in.

* * *

**KATAKURI'S POV**

Katakuri's new pet was...strange. While the kitten was the most adorable thing he had ever seen, it often seemed confused with everything.

_"I'll have to have come check on him again."_ he decided, watching as the kitten suddenly stopped and stared up at his mirror for a moment before beginning to meow at it.

_"...he's...he's meowing at the mirror...do cats like mirrors? I'll have to write that in the journal asked me to keep."_ Katakuri stood and looked down at his pet,

"What is it, Cat?" he asked, noting the way the tiny creature backed away from him in alarm.

_"Am I really that scary?"_ he wondered, then realized that, oh yeah, he was… _"still...I hope he gets used to me in time...it's depressing when even a kitten is scared of me."_

"Here," he said, leaning down to scoop the tiny creature up and place him on the dresser. He watched the kitten freeze as he seemed to study himself seriously in the mirror, a decidedly un-cat like behavior.

_"I've never seen a cat with these markings."_ he mused, " _It's...unique, I like it."_ He allowed himself a small smile as he reached to gently pet the cat...whose response was to flop onto his side.

_"...is...is that normal? I have no idea what I'm doing...or what's normal for that matter...I guess I'll just write it down along with everything else."_ Katakuri enjoyed a moment of calmness, listening to the tiny purr of the kitten, before his door opened, revealing an annoyed Brulee,

"Did you forget that you called a meeting, Brother?" she asked, "We've been waiting for more than ten minutes now."

"Right," Katakuri turned and grabbed his scarf, making sure it was in place before scooping up the kitten and carrying him out of the room with him, hopefully, the small creature would help to keep him calm during what promised to be a stressful meeting.

* * *

**ACE'S POV**

Ace rolled out of bed, doing his best to ignore the throbbing in his face where Sabo's fist had connected in a well-deserved punch. He groaned, the night had been restless and the day didn't seem like it would be much better than any of the others in the past week. The police at a standstill, no new evidence, no leads. Nothing but a week under their belt and a trail that was probably going cold.

He trudged out of his room to find Sabo sitting on the couch with a mug of coffee and a newspaper in hand.

"Good morning, how's your face?" was the greeting he got,

"...morning...it's...fine." Ace grumbled, heading to fetch his own cup of coffee, "Marco and Thatch?"

"Thatch is asleep. Marco left earlier." Sabo informed him, "No new calls from the police. In my own investigation into local trafficking rings, there's no trace of Luffy anywhere...whoever's behind this is being extraordinarily careful."

Ace's hand shook violently as he attempted to pour his coffee, sloshing the hot liquid over the sides until he had to put the pot down.

"Ace?"

"What if…" Ace began, "what if we're too late?" his voice a horrified whisper, "what if it was too late even by the time we got to the police?!"

"It's not too late, Ace." Sabo said, tone reassuring, though he might have also been attempting to reassure himself, "It can't be too late. We'll find him."

Ace went to respond but, before he could, someone knocked on the door of their suite.

"Are we expecting anyone?" Thatch said from the doorway to his room, yawning. Sabo shrugged and stood, making his way over to the door and looking through the peephole.

"It's...not a cop," he warned the other two before opening the door cautiously. "Hello?"

"Greetings, I am Dracule Mihawk, private investigator, I have information on your brother." the man said. He was lucky that it was Sabo who had answered the door because all he did was open it wider and beckon for the man to enter. Ace would have grabbed him and pulled him in.

"Please, come in." Sabo said, "Ace, you should probably call Shanks to save us the trouble. Thatch, Marco will want to be here."

"Alright," Ace did as he was told, ignoring the detective's curious gaze as it studied the impressive bruise on his face.

A few minutes later, after calling Marco back, the group sat down around the coffee table, listening as Shanks greeted the detective enthusiastically.

"HAWKY! I HAVEN'T SEEN YOU IN YEARS!" Shanks exclaimed, "IT'S GOOD TO HEAR FROM YOU!"

"...is this really necessary?" Mihawk asked, and everyone else nodded,

"He's Luffy's godfather," Ace informed him, "...and he'd kill us if we didn't include him."

"...of course he is." Mihawk sighed, "anyway, about the case."

"YES?" Shanks put in, excited

"I have looked over all of the evidence and visited the crime scene myself." Mihawk continued, as though Shanks had never spoken, "I believe that the police were, as usual, a bit too hasty in making assumptions due to the lack of evidence."

"What?"

"Yes. Let me tell you my version of how I think that evening's events transpired. The police were correct in their calculation of the time of the event, not even they could mess that up with such a short period of time. There were indeed people waiting inside the apartment for your brother to return home, two of them in fact. Markings on the drainpipe outside suggested that they climbed up and went through the window into your brother's bedroom. Fingerprints taken off of that window were identified as belonging to a man known as Axe Morgan and the deceased Don Krieg." Ace cursed,

"They were in his bedroom?!"

"Ace, let him talk." Sabo interrupted him, "Why didn't the police think to dust the windows for fingerprints in the first place?"

"...considering their other problems at the moment, the processing of this crime scene was rather rushed. It is likely that, without any sign of forced entry through one of the windows, the police did not think to do so." Mihawk replied,

"...I told him, again and again, to shut and lock his window!" Ace growled, "Luffy can't stand enclosed spaces, not after the fire in Grey Terminal."

"He's a bit claustrophobic," Sabo explained and Mihawk nodded,

"That would explain it." he agreed, "Continuing on, they waited until he arrived home and settled in a bit before they attacked. He was taken by surprise given that he was only able to take a single bite out of the donut on the counter. He fought back, based on the blood spatter on his shirt and the state of the apartment,"

"Yeah but...how did his clothes...why would they-"

"There is absolutely no evidence that your brother was sexually assaulted." Mihawk said with finality, "the only evidence they have is circumstantial based on the clothes on the floor but, you might notice that the buttons on those clothes were still fastened. Had his clothes been forcibly removed, there would have been damage to the articles, and had he been forced to strip, those buttons would not have been fastened." the relief in the room as the man finished speaking was palpable until Sabo spoke up,

"Do you have an explanation then?"

"...we're working on that. Honestly, the scene makes little to no sense. Your brother was not sexually assaulted but...he was likely unclothed when he was taken from the apartment. Unfortunately, the scene outside is even stranger and more difficult to interpret. From the sporadic placement of the blood spatter, it is likely that he was pushed down the stairs, coming to a stop on the sidewalk below. There is nowhere near enough blood for him to have died of those injuries though he was likely incapacitated at the moment."

"Can we get to the mutilated body now?" Shanks asked and Mihawk sighed,

"Based on the somewhat confusing evidence, someone attacked and killed one of the would-be abductors. The police would say that Morgan and Krieg likely had a falling out and attacked one another, placing your brother in Morgan's hands. BUT, I believe that there is a third party at work here. Obviously, Krieg did not survive the encounter, but the presence of a large amount of Morgan's blood at the scene suggests that he was gravely wounded and subsequently dragged away from the scene to the trunk of the vehicle that made the skid marks nearby."

"How do we know that Morgan didn't kill Krieg though?"

"That would be because of Morgan's criminal record. The man's preferred weapon, as his name suggests, is an axe. Krieg's corpse, however, does not bear the wounds one would expect to see on a victim of an axe murderer. His main wounds, those that likely were the cause of death, were inflicted by an even stranger choice of weaponry, a trident. Of course, the other wounds on the body were no less brutal. It appears as though something, likely a finger, punctured Krieg's left eye socket and served as leverage for the lifting of the entire body and crushing of multiple other bones in his face."

"...so...you're saying that Luffy is in the hands of a psychopath?" Sabo asked,

"...we cannot be sure, but whoever it was decided not to kill your brother, though he was clearly capable of doing so on the spot. For whatever reason, he chose to take, not only your brother but Morgan who, I believe and in spite of the amount of blood he lost, was alive when he left the scene, simply due to the fact that Krieg's corpse was left behind." Mihawk said calmly. 

"Okay...now what?" Marco asked,

"I'm currently compiling the psychological profile of the killer and we are working on tracking down the weapon used since tridents are quite unusual."

"Do you...do you think Luffy is still alive?" Ace forced the question out, though he was terrified of the answer, he knew he _had_ to ask.

"I haven't yet completed the psychological profile but, obviously, your brother is in the hands of an extremely dangerous individual. All I know for sure is that, when he was taken from his apartment, he was alive." Mihawk replied, "perhaps the killer took pity on him, considering his injuries and nakedness...we simply do not know enough about him to tell."

"A crazy guy with a trident has my brother. Great." Ace muttered, somehow feeling almost more frustrated than before,

"Guys, hold on." Shanks cut in, voice oddly serious, "we're talking about a man with hands large enough, and strong enough, to crush a skull. A man that wields a trident and doesn't mind killing someone and leaving the body out in the open...I think I have a lead."

"You know who did this?!" Ace nearly shouted in surprise,

"...I think that description fits one Charlotte Katakuri, also known as Dogtooth. Phoenix, the name should sound familiar."

"Dogtooth?!" Marco gasped, "Big Mom's second son?!"

"The same." Shanks confirmed, "That would also explain Hawky's theory of whoever it was taking pity on Luffy. Dogtooth, with all of his younger siblings, has a bit of a soft spot for young, helpless children."

"He's nineteen!" Sabo protested,

"...It's Luffy." Shanks pointed out, "people still confuse him with twelve-year-olds."

"You have a point,"

"Well then, let's go get him!" Ace cheered, standing.

"...it's not so simple, Ace." Marco interrupted, pulling the younger man back down onto the couch beside him, "If Dogtooth really _is_ the one who took Luffy...we need to call Pops."


	7. Chapter 7

**CORAZON'S POV**

Corazon was freaking out...to put it mildly. It had been ten days since his son vanished along with...a bunch of other people, not to mention the massive amount of people that dropped dead all around the same time. To make things worse, Law's roommate was apparently kidnapped and, while he was glad that Law wasn't there when it happened, it was likely that he had been kidnapped anyway.

 _"...must be a serial kidnapper that targets young men with...black hair...that's about all they have in common…"_ Corazon reasoned before he groaned and banged his head on his desk. _"there's literally no connection is there? I hope they're both alright."_

"Did you look over the surveillance tapes I sent you?" Vergo asked from the doorway, startling the other man.

"The what?"

"The...the tapes that I sent over? You know, to look for your brother? The young master?...or...to look for Law…?" Vergo drawled,

"Oh!" Corazon exclaimed, "those! There...wasn't much to see…we honestly need to get better cameras so that this kind of thing doesn't happen again. Honestly, how did a bear even get into Doffy's parlor in the first place?"

"We should be out looking for the young master." Vergo said,

"WE SHOULD BE LOOKING FOR LAW!" Corazon shot back, "Doffy is a grown man and can take care of himself! _Law_ is probably scared and alone and crying for me _right now_!"

"...you...you realize this is _Law_ we're talking about?" Vergo asked in disbelief, "... _Law_ who enjoys dissecting living people as a torture method? The same young man that enjoys ripping people's hearts out? _The Surgeon of Death_?"

"He's a child who's probably crying for his father!" Corazon cried, "He's probably so scared right now!"

"...you're...okay, well...they're probably together...since they disappeared at the same time?" Vergo pointed out, "So...we should be looking for them."

"I have been!" Corazon replied indignantly, "You're just going to trust me as the acting head while Doffy is away."

"...while he's... _away_?"

"...I will find Law if it's the last thing I do!" Corazon continued, ignoring Vergo,

"And Doffy."

"...and Doffy…" Corazon agreed, though it was obvious that he still wasn't quite as worried about his brother as he was about Law.

Vergo sighed and left the room, allowing the door to slam shut behind him. Corazon reached for his phone the moment he knew for sure that the other man was gone, glancing at the clock as he did so. The phone rang for a moment and then connected, Corazon not waiting for a greeting to begin speaking,

"Lucci, have you found anything?" he asked,

"...this is Kaku." was the response he received, "I...don't know….that is...Lucci is MIA…"

"HE'S WHAT?!"

"Haven't seen him in a few days." Kaku replied, "He was following up on a lead and vanished, leaving a bunch of corpses for us to make disappear in his wake. Found his gear and his phone there too, but he was nowhere to be found."

"Why am I _just now_ hearing about this?!" Corazon growled, "This seems important enough to tell me _as soon as humanly possible_."

"...sorry, had a lot to do on my end as well." Kaku offered, "The gov's been asking questions about why I'm not on my assigned mission."

"Just...just work it out. Try to find Lucci but don't forget, I called you in to find my son, that's still your top priority." Corazon didn't wait for an answer, hanging up and slamming his phone down on the desk in frustration. Things just kept getting more and more complicated.

"Law...where are you?"

* * *

**LAW'S POV**

First of all, it had obviously a set up. No one with facial hair that manicured could possibly be trustworthy...especially when they were spewing such nonsense as " _trust me_ " and offering to do them a favor expecting nothing in return.

They'd been caught within an hour and been kept under close surveillance in individual cages until morning when they were transferred first into a van and then, to their horror, the city zoo.

A few days later, Law was in what he assumed was the vet's office, trying to watch the news as he was poked and prodded, growling at the man every time he attempted to make him turn away.

The biggest story was the massive wave of death that had swept through the city, claiming thousands but leaving no evidence behind. Medical personnel around the world were shocked, terrified, and generally baffled by this mystery. Next, there was a story on the hundreds of people missing, including billionaire tycoon Don Quixote Doflamingo and his nephew, Law.

" _...I bet there's a connection...probably between all of them, but I just don't have enough information_." Law thought, finding it odd to hear himself listed among the famous missing persons, not that he could focus on that for very long as the vet decided to prod him in an...unfortunate...place, prompting another growl from the annoyed snow leopard.

" _...this man...he's so dead when I get out of here_."

He turned his attention back to the tv in time to hear the details of a case with sixteen brutally murdered individuals turning up in one night.

" _...based on the location...definitely the Charlotte family...but_ "

"Fifteen bodies were found in various locations around Tottoland Parkway, and one found in front of the Sunnyvale Apartment complex." the news anchor said,

" _Sunnyvale? That's...MY place_!"

"A young college student living on the second floor of Unit C was reportedly abducted from his home a little over a week ago. Even with police working around the clock, no headway has been made in this case. If you have any information regarding the disappearance of one, Monkey D. Luffy, shown in the top right corner here, please call the number on your screen. Any information you have could help to save a life."

" _Luffy-ya?!_ " Law's eyes widened at the news, a low growl escaping him without him realizing it, " _who would be brazen enough to take_ him of all people _right out of our apartment_?!"

"Alright, all done. We can put him back in his enclosure." the vet said, relief obvious in his voice.

Law didn't pay much attention, lost in thought, as he was led back out into the snow leopard enclosure,

" _...who would target Luffy-ya? Is it connected to the other disappearances? Was he turned into an animal too? ...if he was I'd bet it's something hyper...but still, of all the people to target…_ "

"Law."

" _...I need to get out of here and do some investigating...I bet everyone is going crazy with Luffy-ya missing...oh, and the rest of us I guess...but…_ "

"Law!" Doffy's voice cut through his thoughts, making him look over at where the flamingo had decided to awkwardly perch on the fence of the enclosure,

"What?!" he snapped,

"Now, now, Lawsy." the bird "soothed"

"Call me that again and I will rip your wings off." Law growled, receiving a laugh from Kidd in his enclosure at the thought, "Do you have _any_ idea what's going on in this city? It's CHAOS out there!"

"Yes," Doffy replied seriously, "Croc's been gathering information so I have a pretty good idea of what's been happening in absence. Ah, maybe it's the smallest story that has you lost in your head...I heard that little roommate of yours has been...abducted, I believe was the word they used...how _unfortunate_." Law snarled at that,

"He may annoy you but Luffy-ya is possibly the _only_ friend I have."

"Oi, what does that make me?" Kidd called,

"...an acquaintance." Law replied as Doffy said,

"the repairboy."

"Oi!"

"In any case," Law continued, "we need to get out of here as soon as possible."

"Easier said than done." Kidd snorted, "the security for everyone except Old Feather-butt over there is tighter than a jail!"

"What did you just call me?!" Doffy squawked indignantly as Crocodile laughed,

"Don't worry," the reptile put in suddenly, "I have a plan"

* * *

**TEACH'S POV**

"That's it?" Teach asked, unimpressed

"What do you mean that's it?!" Caesar protested, "It's proving to be quite the promising drug!"

"...and how is _that_ supposed to help me?! I won't make the amount of money I need with a meth substitute! You promised me more than this!"

"...I was kidnapped…" Caesar muttered, but kept going before Teach could respond to that, "I need more samples from the animals! All you've brought me is a wombat and a mix of rats and squirrels that might not have ever been human in the first place! ...if this was Joker's plan, he would not have allowed the main targets to escape...the city would have been his within a day…"

"DON'T YOU DARE BRING UP THAT FOSSIL!" Teach roared, "HE'LL BE GROVELLING AT MY FEET SOON ENOUGH!" he spun away from the scientist, "Van Augur! Contact Akainu!" he ordered, "we need to get our hands on any relevant blood samples the police have collected. I want all available hands out walking the streets. You see a stray animal, you bag 'em! Get moving!"

* * *

**KATAKURI'S POV**

"...you should name him...Bagel." Cracker suggested, "since that's what started all of this."

"No." Katakuri snapped, "I would rather die than name him something so...demeaning…"

"How about-"

"We have other things we should be discussing! I will name my cat on my own time, thank you very much." Katakuri interrupted his brother, gently stroking the tiny ball of fluff that lay purring in his arms, dozing. "Mont D'Or, report."

"Our scouts have reported a large amount of men bearing odd tattoos snooping around our territory recently. In fact, within the past few days their numbers have almost doubled."

"Are they part of the same group we massacred?" Katakuri asked, ignoring Cracker's muttered "we?"

"Most likely." Mont D'Or replied, "we have yet to learn who they work for."

"And our...friend?"

"Oh, he's not the most helpful of people." Cracker said, "He keeps claiming that he doesn't know who he took the job from."

"Job?"

"To kidnap some kid," he clarified, "You know, that one that's been in the news lately?"

"The child?" Katakuri asked,

"He's nineteen, Brother." Brulee put in, "not quite a child anymore."

"May as well be," Katakuri replied dismissively, "he's tiny, look at his picture!"

"...by the way, did you happen to see the kid while you were...you know... _murdering_ one of the supposed kidnappers?" Cracker continued,

"No, I only stepped in to save...Shadow? ...no...that's not quite right." he glanced down at the kitten again, "There was no one else there."

"Well, it appears that the police have made _you_ their main suspect in his case." Mont D'Or commented, "what should we do about that?"

"Me? I promise you that I did not abduct the kid, even if I did murder someone outside his apartment. That's...that's really not our main problem right now. I would never kidnap someone without reason nor would I be _stupid enough_ to kidnap Garp's grandson." There was a murmur of agreement from his siblings as he finished speaking, still stroking the tiny warm cat. "...I pity the poor soul who dared to pick a fight with that crazy marine and his family."

"Next subject...Doflamingo's people have gotten...restless, in his absence." Mont D'Or continued, "Should we make a move on his territory while we have this opportunity?"

"...not with this unknown variable thrown in." Katakuri replied, "we need to take care of any immediate threats before making any rash moves." his attention was drawn away from the conversation momentarily by the movement of the kitten in his arms as he stirred, yawning and stretching before squirming, obviously wanting down. Katakuri leaned over to place the tiny creature on the floor before giving his attention back to the meeting, "With or without their leader, the Don Quixote family is strong. I don't want to put any of you at risk by inciting unnecessary conflict while this unknown group is still at large."

"...understood."

"Mont D'Or, continue investigating this group. I want to know why they're snooping around here, who's in charge, anything you can find out." Katakuri ordered, "Cracker, continue attempting to get relevant information out of our guest."

"What, specifically, do you want to know?" the younger asked,

"Anything you believe is relevant to the current situation, including information on the kid."

"You've got it Big Bro!" Cracker replied, "This'll be fun."

"Then, if there's nothing else, this meeting is over." Katakuri stood, along with his siblings, instantly noticing that the floor was suspiciously free of any black fluffballs and the door to the meeting room was wide open.

"If you're looking for your new pet, he looked like he wanted out so I opened the door." Brulee said. Katakuri frowned,

"He's _injured_. He shouldn't be walking around on his own, not without me nearby."

"Already overprotective, Brother?" she teased. He sighed, deciding not to answer in favor of finding his cat.

"...he really can't have gotten far." he muttered as he walked down the hall, peeking in any open doors as he went, "he's tiny and covered in bandages…" As he finished that thought, he heard a crash from Brulee's room, making him turn and race to throw the door open.

There, covered in jewelry, was the cat, staring up in alarm at Flambe. While Katakuri was glad that that look was, for once, not directed his way, he was immediately concerned with the scene before him. The cat's bandages showed splotches of red, spreading from reopened wounds, and his sister stood over the mess, holding Brulee's jewelry box upside down. The poor thing also had new cuts on and around his body and, though it made no sense, Katakuri could have sworn that the tiny creature was _crying._

"Brother, I-" Flambe began, only to be cut off by his enraged roar

"NOT ANOTHER WORD!" she shrank back as he stalked forward, "WHAT DO YOU THINK YOU'RE DOING?! HOW COULD YOU DO THAT TO SUCH A TINY CREATURE WHO HAS DONE _NOTHING_ TO YOU?! HE IS WEAK, ALREADY GRAVELY INJURED, AND COMPLETELY HELPLESS YET YOU DO THIS?"

Flambe trembled under his tirade, looking up hopefully when he took a large, steadying breath, only for that hope to be replaced with horror and disbelief as he continued in a low voice that was almost more terrifying than his enraged shouts,

"Not only have you disrespected me, but you have brought harm to the newest member of _my_ family, and in doing so, broken your promise to obey me while under my roof. Pack your things. You're leaving first thing in the morning."

"B-brother, please!" Flambe protested, "I only wanted-"

"Did I ask for your excuses?" he interrupted coldly, "Cracker, take your sister to her room."

Cracker, knowing it was too late to pretend he (and the others) had been watching the drama unfold and not wanting to earn his older brother's wrath, quickly entered the room, grabbed Flambe's arm, and did as he was told, pretty much dragging the girl down the hallway.

Once their audience had left, Katakuri turned his attention to the poor, crying kitten at his feet.

"what did she do to you, you poor thing?" he asked quietly, carefully beginning to extract the kitten from the pile of jewelry, "I'm sorry, she's my responsibility…" he picked the creature up and carefully examined him, knowing he would likely need to call to visit in the morning.

The kitten blinked up at him, meeting his gaze without fear, an oversized ring perched precariously on his tiny head, slipping down over one ear. Katakuri smiled,

"Ah, I've got the perfect name now. You're a little King, aren't you?"

"Mew!" the kitten...King, said in response, nuzzling his face into the crook of Katakuri's arm as he carried him out of Brulee's room and back towards his own.

* * *

**LUFFY'S POV**

Luffy was warm, comfortable, sleepy, and purring...and that was not okay. Even though this man had been nothing but kind to him and he could sense no evil motives, he was still wary. The stories Shanks had told of the "dreaded Dogtooth" painted a very violent, very _bloody_ , picture that didn't quite match up with the person who currently held him.

He yawned and began to wriggle, attempting to fight off his own drowsiness and get out of the man's massive hands. Fortunately, Katakuri noticed and set him down before focusing his attention back on...whatever they had been discussing. Luffy attempted to stealthily make his way to the door, weaving through massive feet, barely avoiding being stepped on once or twice. He had almost reached his destination without drawing any attention to himself when he managed to run into one of the legs of the older woman's chair and lose his balance, falling over clumsily.

The woman looked down at him and raised an eyebrow before reaching down to grab him by the scruff to help him get back on his feet. This, however, made Luffy see flashes of an insane grin, his entire body stiffening as he remembered the last time someone had grabbed him like that, his captor shaking him violently. Because of this, when she opened the door and put him down, he bolted, nearly running into the wall in his haste to get away.

He only went a little ways down the hall before he had to stop and catch his breath, trying to ignore the protests of his partially healed wounds.

"Oh! It's the mangey little rat that's been taking all of Big Brother's attention." a new voice said, "you're not even that cute, are you?" Luffy didn't like that voice, didn't even attempt to stick around and see who it was that was talking. His instincts said that the speaker was bad news, so he ran.

"ha, little cripple wants to play!" sang the voice, accompanied by odd, skipping footsteps, "run away, Little Rat, the further you go, the easier it will be to play with you."

Luffy glanced briefly over his shoulder, taking in the sight of the young girl skipping after him down the hallway. He knew he couldn't escape her with his tiny, clumsy legs, still stiff and bandaged. He had to hide. The next door in his path was closed but the one after that, just a bit further, was cracked open wide enough that he could run inside and, hopefully, find somewhere to hide.

Just as he reached the doorway, Luffy was yanked back, yowling in pain as the girl lifted him by the tail.

"Caught you!" she laughed, "Let's play, Little Rat."

The world swung and twisted as Luffy was carried upside down into the very room he'd been attempting to reach in order to hide. If his wounds had been protesting earlier, now they were screaming. He could feel the warm, wet patches on his bandages, uncomfortable against his fur.

"What to do, what to do…" the girl sang, "what to do with a rat like you!" She spun in a circle, before her gaze fell on the open jewelry box and she gasped. "I know! Pet rats belong in dark cages." she informed him, carrying him over to the vanity and peaking inside the box.

"Yes, I think this is perfect! In you go." she said, stuffing the disoriented Luffy down onto the bed of hard and sharp objects before slamming the lid to the box, leaving him alone in the dark.

Instantly, it was no longer the pain of his current wounds that plagued him, instead it was a fierce, suffocating heat. The air filled with smoke carrying the screams of unseen people all around and an unforgettable stench as white hot pain lanced through his chest. Luffy couldn't breathe, he couldn't move, couldn't make a sound. He was completely and utterly alone.

The sudden shaking of his prison brought Luffy back to the present, though it did nothing to calm his racing heart and confused mind. He felt many different sharp objects scratching him in the dark, something wrapping around his neck making the situation even more unbearable for a few moments before he found himself falling onto the unforgiving ground as the girl laughed above him.

Suddenly, the door burst open and Luffy had never been quite so glad to see Katakuri. The man was _livid_ , shouting at the girl before having her forcibly removed from the room. Luffy was amazed. From what Shanks had said, family was _everything_ to the Charlottes, yet Katakuri had defended him, someone he had known for a week, against his own sister. He was even more amazed when the man picked him up and _apologized_ as though it had been his fault that the girl had attacked him.

" _Maybe...maybe he's not as bad as I thought._ " Luffy mused as he stared up at the man, for once, completely without fear. Katakuri smiled in response, his eyes softening even though the scarf hid his mouth,

"Ah, I've got the perfect name now. You're a little King, aren't you?" he said and Luffy had to laugh,

" _King? Whatever you say_." he replied, snuggling into the man's arms and, for the first time in what seemed like forever, was able to completely relax, trusting that Katakuri would watch over him.


	8. Chapter 8

**LUCCI'S POV**

Looking back on the past few days, Lucci decided that he really didn't mind being a leopard. He'd scared quite a few people, chased some birds and some dogs for the heck of it, and evaded capture with ease. This was why he didn't bother moving when the door of the house whose back porch he'd spent the night on slid open, revealing a tall woman with long, straight black hair that he recognized as Robin, the wife of an underground broker.

"Oh, hello there Mr. Leopard." she greeted him, "it's a nice morning, isn't it?"

_"It always amazes me how calm she is about everything."_ Lucci mused as he flicked his tail in response to her words.

"Would you like something to drink?" she asked, "I can get you a bowl of milk if you'd like." This time, she didn't wait for an answer, turning and going back inside,

Lucci thought back to the first time he'd met her, having needed her archaeological expertise for a case involving a man by the name of Condoriano. They'd met at night, just off the street behind the museum where she was employed, and a man had decided it was in his best interest to mug them. Her voice had remained as calm as ever as she'd asked,

"Don't you know that, if you were to shoot me, you would get my blood and pieces of my flesh on your clothing? It's so difficult to get out," then she'd proceeded to disarm and knock the man unconscious before turning back to Lucci with a small smile and continuing their previous conversation.

His thoughts were interrupted by a loud voice shouting,

"OW, ROBIN! HAVE YOU SEEN MY MAKESHIFT FLUX CAPACITOR?"

_"Cutty Flam, also known as Franky. One of the world's craziest engineers...and best repairmen…and Robin's husband."_ Lucci thought,

"I think it's in the cabinet above the toilet in the guest bathroom!" Robin called back, "Or you could check under the bed!"

_"They...are definitely a strange couple."_

"OW! IT WAS IN THE BATHROOM! WHAT'S FOR BREAKFAST?"

"I was going to make a quiche but we can have cola instead, all the milk is going to the leopard on our porch." Robin replied

"THAT'S SUPERRRRRRR GREAT!" Franky shouted as Robin reappeared in the doorway with a large bowl of milk. "I didn't know how much you wanted but you're a rather large cat so I used what we had left in the fridge." she informed Lucci, setting the bowl down beside him.

_"...I could definitely get used to this."_ Lucci thought as he stood and went to drink his milk.

* * *

**SMOKER'S POV**

"We have literally nothing new that we can tell you." Doctorine said the second Smoker walked into the lab.

"Nothing?" he sighed, "At all? 5,000 dead and you can't pinpoint the cause?"

"No," the elderly woman replied,

"We've tested all of the letters that were found with some of the bodies." Chopper put in, "the substance found on them was basically chalk, nothing harmful to the human body."

"Well then, why did so many people drop dead?" Smoker questioned, by now used to trusting the word of the young doctor,

"Well, the symptoms described by witnesses, and the data collected from the autopsies suggests...an extremely accelerated strain of the septicemic plague."

"...the plague. You...you did _not_ just tell me that they all died of the plague…"

"...Yes, yes she did." Chopper said calmly.

"My theory," Doctorine continued, "is that the chemical that triggered the onset of the disease was in that white powder. The letters created a sort of sterile, vacuum space, combined with a coating of an unknown substance on the paper itself to keep the chemical alive, making each envelope a small bioweapon. Once the powder was exposed to the air, the disease stayed alive long enough to infect anyone nearby, either through contact with the skin or inhalation, before dying off after making contact with the oxygen."

"Well that...that is not good." Smoker said lowly, "Not good at all. In fact, that would indicate a terrorist attack."

"Has anyone claimed responsibility for the attack yet? It's been almost two weeks now." the woman asked.

"No, it's been completely silent and _that_ is something I find highly disturbing. Who would kill this many people, making his mark on this city and striking fear into the hearts of all the civilians and _not_ speak up? It would suggest some _other_ motive that we can't even begin to figure out." Smoker replied,

"What are you going to do, Detective?" Chopper asked,

"...I'm going to go attempt to get some help." Smoker said tiredly, "I'm overwhelmed and need someone to assist me."

* * *

**DOFLAMINGO'S POV**

"Thanks for nothing, you useless reptile." Doffy said, glaring at his reflection in the mirror a vet had set up in his temporary enclosure.

Crocodile's plan had, admittedly, _sounded_ like it was going to work. It wasn't too difficult to pretend to be ill, laying around and eating very little for a couple of days. The goal had been to be taken to the clinic near the back entrance to the zoo. The security at that point was nowhere near as tight as the rest of the place. They had expected to be able to break out with relative ease. What they _hadn't_ expected was for the zookeepers to notice four completely different animals with the exact same symptoms and immediately assume that they were facing an outbreak of some new disease, resulting in the subsequent quarantine of all four of them in different facilities around the zoo. Crocodile had apparently not noticed that there were specific treatment and rehabilitation centers for the different categories of animals...meaning that he was alone in this awful building with only his reflection as company.

"I am getting very tired of being a bird." he muttered, still staring at his reflection, which he supposed the zookeepers would think was great, "when I find out who is responsible for this I am going to crush them and I will take _great_ pleasure in watching them burn."

He turned his back to the mirror, glaring instead at the door, "the police are probably still running around uselessly, they don't have a _clue_ what's going on." he snorted, "they don't stand a chance without quality leadership...Akainu's obviously not in charge of this investigation, or is involved in keeping it an unsolvable mystery somehow, not that his officers will ever notice, he's a skilled actor when it comes to hiding his...duplicity."

His musings were interrupted by the door opening and closing quickly, admitting one of the younger zookeepers that had been annoying him at frequent intervals. The young man carefully picked him up and turned him to face the mirror, trying not to stress the flamingo out too much.

"I don't want to stare in this stupid mirror you worm!" Doffy growled, head darting forward to peck at the offending hands. The zookeeper yelped in pain when the blow struck home, backing away quickly and clutching his now bleeding hand as he waited for one of his coworkers to open the door for him.

For a few minutes, Doflamingo had some peace before the door flew open once more. The next few moments consisted of gloved hands grabbing his beak to keep it shut, more of them keeping his wings out of harm's way, and a needle being jabbed into him before he was laid out on a table to "relax". Apparently, when he had first arrived at the zoo he had been labeled as "unpredictable" and "high-strung", meaning that the idiots took any outburst of his very seriously.

He sighed and stared up at the tv in the corner, watching as the reporter updated her viewers on the most recent stories...or the lack of updates on the most recent stories...the investigations were ongoing and literally nothing had changed.

_"If this hadn't happened to me, this would have been the perfect opportunity to vie for power. I could have taken down those annoying Charlottes in the confusion, the police are too busy to do anything about gang violence at the moment."_ he frowned, trying to figure out who could have had the ability to do something like this since turning humans into animals in an instant was no easy feat. His eyes widened as he remembered,

_"Caesar! He was missing for a while before this...but...what would he gain? Who gains from turning humans into animals?"_

The woman on the screen began talking about the last of the odd cases, the image changing to a picture of a familiar grinning face.

_"I'd be willing to bet that Law's roommate's case isn't isolated like they think."_ Doffy thought, _"he's probably in the same situation as the rest of us, though I can't imagine why...Little Law must be sooo worried."_ he cackled as darkly as a flamingo could, noting with amusement that that earned him some terrified looks from the zookeepers around.

"I'm not going to be in here forever," he muttered, "and when I get out, there'll be hell to pay."

* * *

**ACE'S POV**

"It's been three days since we _finally_ found a suspect and we have no idea where he is!" Sabo growled, staring down at a map of the city that was frustratingly free of targets.

"As we've discovered, corrollating our information and Pops', unlike the other Charlottes, Dogtooth is surprisingly secretive. His base has never been found." Marco sighed, "to be honest, I'm not sure where to go from here…"

"We brought food!" Thatch shouted, throwing the door open and holding up a bag as he entered, followed by two familiar faces.

"Zoro! Sanji!" Ace exclaimed, "It's so good to see you!"

"We ran into Thatch in town," Sanji explained as he shut the door behind him,

"We want to help." Zoro said, "Luffy's my best friend and I want to be part of finding him."

"We need all the help we can get." Ace admitted, surprising them both by throwing his arms around them in a tight hug before they could take more than a few steps into the room.

"Ace, let them move," Sabo drawled, "we need to fill them in on what we suspect if they're going to help out."

Once Sanji and Thatch had distributed the food, they settled on the couches and Sabo stood to talk.

"I'm just going to lay this out." he began, "From what we understand, Luffy was attacked in his apartment, for whatever reason stripped of his clothes, and dragged outside. From there, his kidnappers were then attacked by someone we suspect to be one Charlotte Katakuri,"

"Dogtooth?!" Zoro exclaimed, eyebrows shooting up.

"You know him, Marimo?" Sanji asked as everyone's attention turned to the green haired man.

"...I fought him once...in the underground colosseum...never before have I fought someone with such bloodlust." Zoro replied seriously, "I was able to escape with my life, but not without losing _this._ " he pointed to where his left eye had been.

"What does such a dangerous man want with Luffy?" Sanji asked no one in particular

"...we don't really know…" Sabo admitted, "that's a question we're _all_ asking."

"It looks like he just killed the kidnappers and..took off with Luffy." Ace interjected, " _and he didn't have his clothes!_ Who knows what he's doing to Lu!" the man's voice rose as he spoke until Marco grabbed his shoulder,

"Ace, calm down-yoi. We have many resources in this city and Pops' _complete_ support. We WILL find him."

"Dogtooth may be brutal, but he's never been known to hurt kids." Thatch put in, "and Luffy looks significantly younger than he is."

"he's always been tiny, the brat." Sanji snorted, "for once that might work in his favor."

"If you guys want to help," Sabo began, drawing the attention back to himself, "Zoro, I want you to ask around the underground fighting rings, even the colosseum, and see if you can find out where Dogtooth's subordinates tend to gather. Maybe if we can get our hands on one of his lackeys, we can force them to tell us where their base is."

"I'll go with him." Sanji put in, "he'll get lost otherwise."

"I will not!" Zoro growled, glaring at the other man,

"This coming from the guy who can't even walk from the campus to his own dojo without ending up on the opposite side of town!" Sanji shot back,

"Well, at least I don't have a dartboard on my forehead!"

"Mosshead!"

"Womanizer!"

"ALRIGHT, ALRIGHT!" Thatch interrupted before it could come to blows, "That's _quite_ enough! We have things to do!"

"That's right." Sabo said darkly, "Dogtooth had better watch out. We're coming for him."

* * *

**LUFFY'S POV**

Luffy liked the rain. He liked how it looked as it fell. He liked the sound and the smell of the rain, especially with his heightened senses. He was grateful that Kuri, as he had taken to calling the tall man, had realized this and opened the window, leaving only the thin screen as a barrier from the outside world.

Katakuri stood from where he'd been lounging nearby, reading, and carefully stroked the kitten's fur. Luffy closed his eyes, allowing himself to enjoy the feeling for a moment as a purr came unbidden from his chest. He rolled over and grabbed at the man's massive hand with his comparably tiny paws (even though his paws were big for a cat his size), making Kuri chuckle a bit as he allowed the kitten to "catch" him and playfully bite down on his hand. Ever since Kuri saved him from the scary girl, Luffy found himself letting his guard down more and more, getting used to being a small kitten and actually acting like one. After Kuri played with him for a little while, he got up and headed for the door,

"I'll be back soon, King." he said as he left the room, leaving Luffy sprawled contentedly on the windowsill.

Luffy stretched before turning over and going back to watching the gentle rain outside, watching calmly for a few minutes before something caught his eye.

A big, colorful butterfly held his attention as it fluttered around in front of the window. It moved from side to side, looking for a dry place to land before settling on the screen, just out of reach. Luffy leapt to his feet and reared up onto his hind legs, planting his front paws on the screen for balance as he stretched to try and reach the little insect. He was _almost_ able to sniff at the butterfly's last set of legs, just a little farther and he'd maybe be able to get close to the delicate wings. He stretched, putting more of his weight on the screen, just a little farther and...the entire thing fell out of the window, taking Luffy with it, his tiny claws trapped in the mesh.

Luffy hit the ground hard, the wind knocked out of his tiny body. He retracted his claws and lay there for a moment until he shot to his feet, wrinkling up his nose at the cold, wet feeling of the rain sinking into his fur. He looked back up at the window, immediately realizing that he wouldn't be able to get back inside that way. He _could_ make his way around the house to one of the doors and either meow until he got someone's attention, or wait there until Kuri inevitably noticed that he was missing and came looking for him...or, he could...have an adventure while waiting for someone to find him...the rain wasn't _that_ bad once he got used to it.

Luffy made up his mind and began his trek through the yard, padding along as the wet grass soaked his belly fur, not that he minded, he was having _an adventure_! He lost track of time, exploring the surprisingly large yard, stalking beetles and pouncing on flowers as they swayed in the breeze. It was fantastic...until a loud clap of thunder made his fur stand on end.

_"...should look for the door…"_ he thought, eyeing the cloudy sky warily,

For a few minutes, it seemed as though the thunder that had startled him was the only one, a false alarm that he was thankful for as darkness fell. The sudden downpour, followed by an even louder peal of thunder than the previous had him running for what he hoped was Kuri's house.

Little paws met pavement and, for a brief second, Luffy was relieved, thinking he had found the porch. Blinded by the rain, he stumbled forward, searching for the door, only to fall a short distance into rushing water. It was then that he realized that he had gone away from Kuri's house, not towards it, meaning that he had just fallen into the street and was being swept away by the runoff. He coughed and sputtered as the rushing water hit him in the face, struggling to escape the current. He was about to be swept into one of those big drains that had terrified him when he was little (the ones that maybe still scared him a bit, not that he would ever let Ace know that…), he just knew it.

He didn't think things could get any worse until he saw, through the rain, the headlights heading straight for him. Luffy meowed as loud as he possibly could, desperate for someone, anyone, to save him. He didn't want to die, he couldn't, Ace and Kuri would be so sad if he died. He shut his eyes as the light of the approaching vehicle became painful, still crying out as best he could even as he braced for impact.


	9. Chapter 9

**LUCCI'S** **POV**

Lucci had always found the sound of thunder relaxing, even if it was louder thanks to his amplified hearing, which, at the moment, was picking up strange noises that put him on edge even as he tried to relax on Robin's front porch.

As the sounds grew louder, he noticed a car driving down the street, coming closer and closer as the sounds became what Lucci could only identify as cries of distress. Before he even knew what he was doing, the leopard had sprung to his feet, racing across the lawn and scooping something small, furry, and wet up into his mouth just before the car, one he recognized as belonging to someone a few houses down, splashed them on its way past.

_"...what...just happened?"_ Lucci wondered, even as he returned to the shelter of the porch, plopping the thing that he'd just saved down onto the welcome mat. The tiny bundle was vibrating, it was shaking so hard from both the cold and the fear that was still evident in the big eyes that stared up at him. Four legs, a tail, two massive ears. _"A kitten?"_ he thought incredulously, _"I just saved a cat?"_ Lucci sighed, _"instincts, huh?"_

"Th...thanks, for sa-saving m-m-me." the kitten forced out, drawing Lucci's attention away from his thoughts.

"Don't mention it." he replied, though it didn't seem to register to the tiny, shivering kitten. _"...I..what am I supposed to do now?"_ he wondered. Luckily, his instincts answered that for him. He picked the kitten up by the scruff and padded over to the door, proceeding to knock as best as he could with his tail. It took a moment but soon enough, the door opened, Robin staring down at him,

"Oh, hello ." she greeted. Lucci ignored her, walking into the house and to the living room, laying down in front of the fire and plopping the kitten onto his paws before beginning to groom the tiny creature.

"Oh, you've found a friend, how wonderful." Robin said, closing the door, "I'll make some tea while you warm up,"

"What a SUPERRRRRRRR storm!" Franky shouted as he walked into the room, not even glancing at the two felines sitting by his fireplace,

"Franky, we've got company." Robin called back as she went to the kitchen, "could you find them some blankets to help them warm up?"

"Comin' right up!" he replied, disappearing back the way he'd come.

Lucci paid no attention to the people, focusing on trying to get the kitten to stop shaking so hard. He did, however, look up when a pile of blankets was dumped on top of him, growling a little until hands managed to excavate him and the kitten, transforming the small pile into a cozy nest.

"No need to growl Leopard-bro, I know exactly what I'm doing!" Franky assured him, "'cause I'm superrrrrrr!" Lucci rolled his eyes and picked up the kitten, standing and circling a bit before laying back down and placing his charge gently on his paws once again. Robin smiled down at him as she placed the bowl of hot tea inside the nest of blankets,

"Jasmine tea, your favorite, if I recall." she said, Lucci looked up at her honestly not surprised,

_"It's Robin, after all. Of course she figured out who I am."_ he thought, dipping his head in thanks before moving to take a drink of his tea.

"You can talk too?" the kitten asked suddenly and Lucci snorted,

"Yes, obviously." he replied, "Am I to assume that you are a human as well?"

"How'd you know?" the kitten gasped, eyes wide. 

"...considering you are currently speaking to me…"

"Ah...that's really cool! I haven't met anyone like me since I was turned! My name's Monkey D. Luffy," he chirped, "what's yours?"

"huh…" Lucci replied, "You have no idea how many people are looking for you right now." he informed him.

"Shishishi, yeah." Luffy laughed, though his amusement didn't last too long, "I'm sure everyone's worried…especially Ace and Sabo…but it's not like I'm in danger anymore! Kuri's nice!"

"...and _who_ is this _Kuri_?" Lucci asked, eyes narrowed. Luffy's head tilted to the side, ears flopping. 

"Hmmm, I think everyone just calls him Dogtooth." Lucci just stared down at the tiny black kitten.

_"So he really was kidnapped by the mob…"_ he thought, _"what a surprise."_

"What do you remember from when you were taken?"

"Well...I was really excited to see Ace! I ran home and there was a tasty donut on the counter and I figured it was from Ace so I took a bite and I was a cat! Can you believe it?" Luffy replied easily. Lucci nodded,

"Anything else?" he asked. 

"Then some jerks came and started chasing me around my own apartment! I tried to run outside but they caught me and stuffed me in a bag. Everything after that is kind of...fuzzy...I think Kuri found me, or maybe took me from them? I'm not sure."

_"This confirms the fact that the person behind this wants the animals alive."_ Lucci thought, _"but I'm still not sure why…"_

"Yes, quite the story." he said aloud, noticing that the kitten was waiting for him to reply, "Now I'm tired, and I'm sure you are as well. Go to sleep."

"But-" Luffy protested, only to find a paw bigger than his entire body pushing him down into the blankets.

"Sleep. These are good people. You are safe."

* * *

**KATAKURI'S POV**

Katakuri was freaking out. He'd left the room only briefly after spending a _very_ fun time playing with King before being unable to find him anywhere. Worse, he hadn't appeared even when food was offered. (He had discovered this to be a major weakness of his new pet).

King had only just started to open up to him, no longer backing away in fear every time he entered the room and now...he was gone?

"CRACKER!" Katakuri shouted, throwing his door open, "CRACKER COME HERE!"

"WHAT?!" his younger brother yelled back, opening the door to his own room and peering out.

"DID YOU TAKE KING?!"

"WHAT?! WHY WOULD I WANT YOUR CAT?! ISN'T HE IN YOUR ROOM LIKE HE ALWAYS IS?"

"NO HE'S NOT AND HE DIDN'T COME WHEN I OFFERED FOOD! SOMETHING IS VERY WRONG!"

"Calm down, Brother." Brulee said, walking out of her own room, "King is a very _very_ tiny cat, he's probably just sleeping somewhere in your room and you haven't found him yet."

"NO, HE DIDN'T COME WHEN I OFFERED FOOD!" Katakuri protested. Brulee sighed and took his arm,

"Come on, let's go look again. I'm sure he's fine. He's probably wondering why you're shouting so much." she soothed, pulling him back towards his room.

As they walked, Katakuri realized just how protective he was over this tiny cat. If something had happened to King it was probably all his fault and he didn't know what he would do...except maybe go find someone to kill...unless he could find the kitten…

When they entered his room, they began to search all of the nooks and crannies, looking even in the most improbable places. It was then that Katakuri heard the loud claps of thunder, realizing just how quickly the storm outside had developed. He then remembered that he had opened his window for King to get some fresh air and decided that he needed to close it to keep the rain from drenching his room.

He stopped dead in his tracks when he got closer to the window and saw, to his horror, that the screen was gone. Katakuri lunged forward, sticking his head...and most of his torso actually...out of the window, noticing the screen on the ground and no kitten in sight.

"Brother, what are you doing?!" Brulee exclaimed, "Get back inside! You're getting all wet! I don't want you getting a cold!"

Katakuri pulled himself back inside, grabbing his coat as he stalked towards the door.

"HE'S OUTSIDE! KING'S OUTSIDE ALL ALONE IN THIS WEATHER! I MUST GO FIND HIM!" he declared,

"Brother, he'll be fine he's-"

"YOU DON'T UNDERSTAND!" he interrupted, "KING...King...he doesn't like to be alone, and it'll be dark soon…"

"I understand, Brother, but you cannot go out in this weather!" Brulee said, "King is a smart cat, he probably found shelter somewhere nearby. I'm sure he will be back _completely unscathed_ in the morning." Katakuri sighed,

"...you're right, he's a smart cat." he conceded, "Very well. I will wait until morning. BUT if he is NOT back by then, we will _all_ be out searching for him, no matter what the weather is doing!"

To say Katakuri got no sleep that night was an understatement. He kept envisioning his poor, defenseless kitten all alone in the stormy night.

_"What if he fell down a drain? What if some wild animal found him?! What if he was hit by a car?! What if he can't find his way back?! What if he drowned?! What if-"_ Katakuri had no idea how long he lay there as increasingly horrible (and impossible) scenarios flashed through his mind. He was so lost in his thoughts that the first time Cracker yelled for him, he almost didn't hear him,

"BROTHER!" Cracker shouted, "BROTHER, YOUR CAT IS AT THE DOOR!"

Katakuri practically flew out of his room and through the house to the front door, stopping dead at the sight of King hanging from the mouth of a _massive_ leopard.

"Mrowr!" King cried, obviously annoyed with the larger feline as he twisted and swung in its mouth, attempting to bat at the jaws that held him securely off the ground.

"So...this was not expected…" Cracker commented, staring at the scene, "what do we do?"

At that, the leopard snorted and gently lowered King to the ground, using one giant paw to nudge him towards Katakuri, who managed to overcome his shock at the unusual situation with the sight of his kitten stumbling over his own paws in his attempt to get to him.

"King!" he exclaimed, kneeling to scoop the tiny creature into his arms, "I'm so glad you're safe!" (the latter said as he thoroughly examined him to make sure that he wasn't injured). 

The leopard turned to leave, though not before giving the humans a pointed glare, practically strutting across the yard before breaking out in a run, quickly disappearing down the street.

"...did that leopard just threaten us?" Cracker asked in disbelief, turning to look at his siblings incredulously.

Katakuri didn't see this though and he wasn't really listening, having already turned to head back to his room.

"Brulee, call Hogback and make an appointment for King within the next two hours. Tell him I want him chipped," he called over his shoulder, not waiting for a reply before shutting the door behind him.

Katakuri removed his scarf and carried King into his bathroom first, using a hand towel to gently dry off the parts of his fur that were still wet from being carried around by a leopard. After that, he carried him over to the bed, sitting down and using his fingers in an attempt to straighten out the kitten's frazzled fur. He smiled as King purred, blinking sleepily up at him and yawning.

"When did you become so important to me?" Katakuri asked quietly, gently scratching under King's chin, "I guess it's true that animals can worm their way into the most walled-off hearts, not that that's too surprising. I heard that animals are the embodiment of the purest love on earth."

King mewed quietly, almost in response it seemed, nuzzling his face into the man's hand.

"Well, I'm glad you're back and now I think we should take a nap before arrives." he lay back, closing his eyes, only for them to pop open again when he felt tiny paws walking across his chest. "King...wha-"

"Mew." the kitten interrupted, walking up to the man's face and rubbing his side against him a few times before settling down and beginning to knead his torn jaw.

Katakuri didn't know what to do with this. There was a reason he kept his face hidden, even from his family, only Brulee and his immediate siblings knew his biggest secret. He hadn't been worried about taking his scarf off in front of the cat but he'd _never_ thought that King would be so accepting of the gruesome scarring...to the point of _licking_ it apparently.

"No, King, thank you but please don't lick my face, that hurts," he said, bringing a hand up to pet the kitten who merely purred and licked him again before settling into a little ball, curled up under his chin.

A couple of hours later Brulee woke the pair to announce that Dr.Hogback had arrived and was waiting in the dining room. Katakuri groaned, wishing he'd given himself more time, and put his scarf on before taking King to meet the vet once again.

"Fossfossfossfoss!" Hogback laughed, after listening to the events that had brought him back to Katakuri's house, "A leopard you say? How interesting!"

"Yes, but my main concern is making sure that, were this to happen again, I would be able to find King and not have to to rely on large predators with maternal instincts."

"Fossfossfoss! We can do that easily!" the vet assured him, "In fact, I brought all of the equipment so that I could do it right here. But first, let's have little King relax a bit. The procedure isn't painful but it helps me with placement if he's not tense." Having said that, Hogback produced what looked like an individually wrapped alcohol wipe, "This, when rubbed on King's face and the area around him, will create what I like to call a _happy cat space_. He'll be very relaxed."

Hogback tore open the packet and pulled out the folded wipe inside, reaching to gently rub it on King's face, focusing on the areas that held scent glands, before he moved to wipe the rest on the table.

"...is he okay?" Katakuri asked, watching as King blinked, disoriented. He stumbled around for a moment before flopping down and rubbing his face on the table, purring loudly.

"He's fine, just enjoying being a _very_ happy cat," Hogback replied, reaching for the tools he would need.

Katakuri didn't really pay too much attention to the actual procedure, too preoccupied with King's odd behavior to care much about what the vet was doing. He saw the chip go in, knew that Hogback had activated it and that King was registered under his name, and nodded in satisfaction as his ownership of the kitten was cemented.

"Well, is there anything else that you need while I'm here?" Hogback asked, packing away the last of his various tools.

"He'll go back to normal...right?" Katakuri asked, watching King flop around.

"Yes, yes, the effects were a bit exaggerated, likely due to his small size and youth, but they should wear off soon. He'll be fine. You have a healthy little kitten."

A few hours after the vet left and King was back to normal, Katakuri found himself in a pet store feeling completely out of place, King perched on his shoulder. It had taken _a lot_ of convincing to get this little field trip with King, just the two of them, no guards, no annoying younger siblings. It was just Katakuri and King attempting to look for more cat things to make the kitten feel more at home.

That being said, he had no idea where to start and everyone else in the store was _definitely_ afraid of him.

"Alright King," Katakuri muttered, "I'm going to need you to pick things out, I have no idea what you like." He was almost positive that King nodded in response.

_"I have such a strange cat."_ he mused, walking to the cat section and placing the kitten on the floor.

"Go on, pick out whatever you want." he encouraged, watching as the tiny creature began walking down the aisle, studying everything as he went. Katakuri followed him for a moment before stopping to examine an odd looking toy hanging on the wall.

"Oh well aren't you cute!" someone exclaimed. Katakuri's head whipped around at the answering, mildly panicked mewl that the stranger received in response. Somehow, in the few seconds he had taken his eyes off of the kitten, a young man had appeared in the aisle and _picked up_ King. He frowned and stalked over to where the guy was attempting to calm the struggling kitten, glaring down at him. 

"That is my cat." he growled, "I would like him back, please. I don't believe he likes you."

The young man paled but didn't move.

"I don't think I want to." he sneered, "I've been wanting a new pet and, I don't see a collar."

"Oh trust me, Punk." Katakuri said, moving closer, "you don't want to go there." The two men glared at each other, waiting to see what the other would do while King hissed angrily in the stranger's too-tight grip.

"Yohohoho!" a new voice cut in, "What seems to be the problem here, gentlemen?"

They turned to see possibly the oldest man either of them had ever seen, practically a skeleton with an afro and a massive smile. "I can call security if needed,"

"Tch." the stranger said instead of responding to the question, unceremoniously dropping the kitten into Katakuri's outstretched hand before stalking off.

"It would seem that the problem is resolved," Katakuri said, pulling King close protectively.

"Yohohoho, well, I'm glad I could be of assistance!" the elderly man laughed, squinting at him, "I see you have yourself a lovely little...beaver!"

"Beaver?" Katakuri questioned, "You mean my cat?"

"Yes! That's what I said! Your cat! Allow me to assist in getting you whatever you need!"

The man, Brook, proved to be very helpful, even if he was a bit slow and almost completely blind. King also seemed to like him, rubbing up against the man's legs a lot, which obviously meant that this was a good guy. Katakuri had found that King was a good judge of character.

After forty-five minutes of picking out anything and everything the cat could possibly want, they came to the aisle Katakuri really wanted to go to, the collars. With what had happened earlier, he wasn't taking any chances. King would have a collar that showed just who he belonged to, one that would only be taken off when _absolutely necessary_.

King walked slowly amongst the collars, sniffing at some and completely ignoring others. He seemed to like the bright red ones that they passed, pausing to study those the longest whenever he came to one. Eventually, King came running back and climbed straight up Katakuri's pant leg, then his jacket, until he could perch on his shoulder.

"Find one you like?" he asked and King chirped happily.

The man walked over to where he had last seen the kitten stop and turned to study the different ones in this section. He picked up a few of the collars, the cat turning away from each one until he picked up the last red collar in the section on the highest rack. This one was the bright red that the kitten obviously liked more than other colors, made to last no matter how much he grew with some new, insanely stretchy material, a small golden bell in the shape of a...hat?...hanging from the center.

"This one?" Katakuri asked and, if King's purrs were anything to go by, he had finally found the right one.

"If you like that one," Brook said, "we can have the charm engraved with his name and information. It'll only take a few minutes. In fact, if that's all for today, you can go ahead and start checking out while it's being personalized."

"Thank you for all of your help, Brook," Katakuri said,

"Yohohoho! It's my pleasure, young man!" Brook replied happily, leading the way to the front of the store. The cashier, who had an unusually long nose, was especially afraid of him for some reason, even though Brook assured the young man that there was nothing to fear, loudly. This employee, whose nametag said he was called Usopp, proved to be another person King liked, the kitten weaving through his legs as he finished scanning the last of their items.

When Katakuri _finally_ arrived home from his "field trip" he was exhausted.

_"Who knew having a pet could be so taxing."_

"Brother, you're back!" Cracker exclaimed the moment he crossed the threshold, "Did you still want to interrogate Morgan?"

"I'll do it later," Katakuri said, waving off his younger brother "I am exhausted."

He made his way to his room, not bothering to unpack most of the things he'd bought, only one thing even making it out of its bag. The collar.

"King, come here." He practically ordered and the kitten jumped up onto the man's lap as Katakuri sat on the edge of his bed, the tiny cat meowing happily. He held as still as could be expected of a kitten as the red collar was fastened securely around his neck, little hat-shaped bell and the tag bearing his name and owner, displayed proudly in front.

"Glad that's taken care of," Katakuri muttered, breathing a sigh of relief. He then fell back against his bed and fell asleep almost instantly, barely registering the soft tinkling of the bell as King made himself comfortable in his scarf.


End file.
